


paradise on earth

by rosegoldblood



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Artificial Intelligence, Asphyxiation, Blood and Injury, Explicit Language, Human Experimentation, M/M, Romance, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Technology, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 55,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: millennia ago, humanity thought that a living, human being was the only way to fulfill our natural want and need for a social life. but we have progressed past that concept, have no longer allowed ourselves to be tied down by such an outdated idea.why put in all the effort to get someone to like you, when our company-coded ais do already? why go outside and feel trapped in your own need for communication when you can get all you need in your own home, with an app that's just a click away?you made the right choice. welcome, user dream, to paradise.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 353
Kudos: 807





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> obligatory reminder to not harass any content creators about shipping; that includes dream and george, even if they've expressed that they're okay with it. enjoy the fic! <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream buys an app (and makes a friend).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic is somewhat inspired by amooniesong's manhunt series, and if you haven't already, you should check her out - their stories are really good! big thanks to the whole dteam writers server, as well ;)
> 
> with that said, enjoy the fic!

dream couldn't believe that it had come to this.

he'd seen the ads on television, heard about it from people he knew, ranting about how cool it was. how convenient, and fun, and worth every single cent they had paid. he'd always thought it was pathetic - how lazy and lonely do you have to be to buy an artificial intelligence to talk with?

and yet here he was. it would've been funny, except he didn't have the heart to laugh, standing there with the soles of his sneakers damp with rain and who knew what else. he had come during the middle of the night, as the machines were usually too crowded during the day, but he was beginning to regret it as darkness and a swarming sense of solitude wrapped around him.

"what can i do for you today?" the machine said in a pleasant voice as it beeped to life. dream took a deep breath and tapped the 'purchase' button. "very well. please press your thumb against the scanning slot." he obeyed, shifting on his feet as the green line moved up and down the surface of his thumb.

it told him to enter his name, and he did. with shaky fingers, he carefully typed out his name: dream. the machine loaded and started speaking again. "thank you. would you like to purchase the one-year package or the three-year one?" he tapped the one-year button and the voice hummed.

more buzzing. it asked for his phone number, then told him to scan a qr code, then a passcode. after what seemed like dozens of trials and security confirmations, the notification popped up on his phone, telling him that he had successfully purchased the app.

"thank you for purchasing, user dream," the voice said, in a voice so sweet yet so eerie that it made him shiver in the cold. "you made the right choice. _welcome to paradise_." the machine shut off with another beep and he was alone in the dark, crickets chirping.

the walk back home was quiet and even creepier. he itched to get his hands on the app, try it for the first time, but dream made himself wait. once he got back to his small, barely three metres wide house, he raced up the steps and flopped onto his bed, tucking his knees up to his chest.

with more patience than he thought was capable, dream took off his green hoodie, discarding it on the floor. hesitantly, he opened the app, and entered his chosen password. it asked him a few questions; his gender, his age range, his interests. after a minute or two, it informed him that his ai was up and ready to chat.

_hi,_ was all he texted, biting at his nails.

a second later: **hi. i'm george, your new ai. how are you, dream?**

"doesn't seem very real to me," dream muttered to himself. all of them had advertised the ai as so realistic and human-like some people had doubted that it was artificial. yet, so far, it just sounded like some stiff toy with a few generic lines. _i'm fine,_ was what he said next.

**glad to hear! but, you know, you can always tell me if you aren't. that's what i'm for.** this at least seemed a bit more natural, but was much too nice and pleasant to be human. at least, to dream. maybe he just met far too many mean people. 

_i guess so. but don't worry, i paid a lot for this, and i plan to make it worth it,_ dream said, already settling into the bed. realistic or not, it was still nice to have company, to have someone to talk to. even if they were a pre-programmed robot. god, dream was lonely.

this time there was a bit of the stall with the message, but after a moment, a text popped onto his screen. **paid a lot? jeez. at paradise we like to think we make things really cheap!** dream leaned forward, eyebrows raised. the message was a lot more human-like than the last two. 

_pretty sure that's just propaganda._

**i don't think so, dream. maybe you're just poor.** dream let out an bark of laughter at the text, before hurriedly clapping a hand over his mouth and pressing the screen to his chest. so that's what everyone was talking about - as much as he hated to admit it, george felt so real he had almost forgotten he was chatting with an ai.

he carefully typed out his next message. _sorry, it's late. i'm not really sure what to talk about, so i'm afraid you're going to have to carry the conversation._ dream paused before grinning and adding a second text. _that is, if you can._

**well, if it's late you should probably get some rest,** george responded. it felt weird to think about the ai that way, with a human name - but it suited it. him? it was probably a him, right? **but that sounded like a challenge. are you challenging me, dream?**

with a groan, dream stretched over to turn off his lights, snuggling up under his blankets. the light of his phone screen illuminated the space around him, shiny neon blue rays of light spilling onto his sheets and his pillows. _maybe i am. and i'm in bed, too, so. got home right after buying you._

he flushed red at how wrong that last part sounded. **buying me, huh? well, thank you for that ;)** dream threw his arm over his eyes, trying to leech the heat out of his face. **for real, though, thank you. every cent helps us here at paradise.** more propaganda, but it seemed more genuine coming from george.

"don't be ridiculous, dream, he's a bot," dream whispered to himself, "he's not real." no matter how much he acted like it, he was still just a bunch of code and text programmed to act like a human. that was why the app was so damned expensive, he guessed - it was too realistic. dream didn't even want to think of the dangers of getting too into the app.

when he looked back at his screen, george had sent a third text. **but if you need a topic, here's one: is there something you've always dreamed of doing yet that you haven't done?** dream squinted at the words, furrowing his eyebrows. it was probably one of those auto-generated topics that the ai chose at random to ask, but despite the fact that he knew that dream felt a pang in his chest.

_lots of things,_ he responded. when george asked what they were, dream sighed. of course he had always wanted to do things - travel, write a book, become an athlete. things that, as a child, he thought he could do when he was older. but the older he got (and this was the ironic part), the less likely those things became.

travelling was too expensive. writing a book took up too much time, and even if he did, he couldn't publish it - only a few select people were allowed to do that. people who could afford to pay the price of the pages and ink, had a few hundred dollars to spare. he didn't have that.

dream closed his eyes then opened them, and suddenly the light on his phone was far too bright. _i've always wanted to fall in love, i guess,_ he texted, choosing what seemed like the most poetic option of all the lost aspirations he had long given up on.

**i think most people have wanted that at some point in time,** was the analytical reply. the sharp blue of his screen was lulling dream to sleep, exhausted after getting up at an ungodly hour just to buy a stupid ai. a stupid ai that seemed surprisingly real. 

_yeah,_ he texted back, _i still want that, actually. but no one seems to like me._ dream knew in the back of his mind he was probably oversharing, but fuck it, george was a robot. he didn't have a mind. he was a wall of text, and it was okay. it was okay to tell him anything.

the last words he was able to read before drifting off to sleep were **don't worry. i'm sure you'll find love eventually, dream.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, but they'll get longer as the fic continues, so don't worry! :)


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george isn't the luckiest person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GEORGE 2 MILL!! CONGRATS GOGY!! :D  
> sorry for making your life shitty in this 

george couldn't remember the last time he had slept for a full night.

well, george couldn't remember the last time he had slept, period. he knew it had been within a week, at least, or else he would be snoring away at his desk already; but he couldn't exactly place when it was. not like it mattered. no one knew he existed, and so no one cared.

he resented them. all of them. every single person who bought into the stupid app, _paradise,_ and ranted about how cool and realistic and life-like it was. everyone seemed to noticed the ais talked like humans, and yet nobody considered that they might be, behind the screens, beneath the surface.

tears were pricking at the corner of his eyes, and george rubbed them away with the back of his hand. one of the users, dream, had stopped texting after a while. probably had fallen asleep, if george was to guess. he was nice, a little smug, but also uncertain. like so many other users. none of those things made him any less hateable.

"no wonder no one loves you," george growled through gritted teeth. at first he thought to himself that maybe that was a bit harsh, but it wasn't like dream could hear him anyway. besides, he was forced to be all too nice to dream anyway. _couldn't have a mean ai. it'd be bad for business._

but he at least was doing george a favour by falling asleep. he groaned and banged his forehead against the surface of his table, memories of the month before flashing through his mind. he'd let himself get too comfortable with his user, made the girl suspicious of whether he was really artificial. george had reined it in, but it was too late.

before he knew it he'd been demoted, the user moved to another 'ai'. demotion was tough; it meant less work, but also less pay, and he had gotten too little as it were. every day, he'd sit at his desk, clacking away at a keyboard and pretending to be a bot. shit sucked.

and he knew it was stupid; that was the worst part. he knew that no matter how hard he worked, he'd never be able to drag himself out of the hellhole. in a way, dying was much worse than the life he lived, if it was considered living at all. sometimes it came to mind, but every time george envisioned those tiny pills, or a noose - it made him sick to his stomach.

so he was stuck. between life and death, in some type of middle ground that was worse than either of those. the middle ground where all he did was work, work, wished he didn't have to work, and work. it wasn't like he had any other choice. paradise knew everything about him, and if he tried to quit...

george sighed and banged his head against the desk one more time, for good measure, before taking a drink of water. he stared at the screen, running his fingers along the dark circles under his eyes. the intercom crackled to life and he looked up hopefully. 

_"paradise number two hundred and forty-one, you're free to go. log in back in five hours, or else there will be dire consequences."_ without hesitance george pushed back his chair, letting the legs scrape loudly against the floor, ignoring the dirty looks some of the other people in the room. they were separated into cubicles, almost like an old-fashioned office, except the floor was coated in dust and the doors creaked on their hinges.

he pressed his thumbprint against the slot and walked out the door, letting it clang shut behind him. the pavement was wet with rain, and the droplets slammed against the walls and windows. some people were carrying umbrellas, most were riding trains, but george didn't have access to either of those.

with a groan he pulled his jacket sleeves up to his wrists and started running, across the street and down the block. his sneakers slid against the ground, but he managed not to slip whenever he ran over a puddle.

vaguely george wondered how he'd gotten into his terrible situation, but he already knew. riddled by loneliness and an overwhelming sense of insecurity, george had bought paradise. had gotten hooked up to an ai, and it was nice. for a while. everything after that just went downhill.

no matter how hard he tried not to think about it, his mind couldn't stop providing him with the flashes of his past, the reminder that really it was all his own fault. the one-year package ending, george insisting he could go without it, before realising he couldn't. walking for an hour to get to that specific machine.

tapping on that three-year deal button. paying. scanning his thumbprint. his sneakers started skidding across the pavement as george ran, like if he did he could escape his own memories. but he couldn't, because everything just kept flashing past. the envelope in his mailbox. the plaque on his desk.

the palm of his hand scraped against the wall as he came crashing down onto the pavement. the ground was wet, thankfully, but it soaked through his clothes, and pain throbbed through his arm. with a groan george closed his eyes and let himself lay flat, face-down against the sidewalk for a moment.

"dude, are you alright?" a familiar voice said, and george groaned again, this time with exasperation. he craned his neck to look up at sapnap, who was leaning forward with his hands on his knees, looking unimpressed. "you're off work already?"

"i am," george replied. he propped himself up onto his arms but ended up slipping and colliding into the ground again. george just hummed, annoyed, with no energy left to try again. sapnap laughed, high and bright, helping george onto his feet.

"i'll get you some tissues. come in, man." he jerked his head toward the wall squeezed in between two other antique shops, with a small set of stairs leading up to a mahogany door. sapnap opened it and gestured for george to come in, and he did, following after his friend.

sapnap's coffee shop wasn't the most popular one, but most of the time george was grateful for that; he hated crowds. he hated people in general, really, except for sapnap (and even that was a gamble at times). jars and cakes lined the shelves, time-worn and creaky. 

he hurried to the backroom and came out with a pile of tissues, dumping them onto george's arms, who smiled. "thanks, sap," he said, and sapnap just grinned back. as he took his time wiping down his jacket and jeans, sap talked to another one of the customers, arms crossed as he chatted pleasantly.

"so, georgie," sapnap started, tone conversational as he cut slices into a cake. george cringed at the nickname but didn't comment on it, mostly because sapnap had given him the tissues. "are you ever going to tell me where you work? or at least why you were lying face-down on the wet pavement just now?"

"guess i got overexcited," george answered, ignoring the first question, which sapnap raised his eyebrows to but didn't say anything. "really long break this time, which are pretty rare," he explained. it _wasn't_ a long break, but he couldn't tell sapnap his actual work conditions. he didn't want him to be worried.

to his credit, sapnap seemed to figure out that something was off, but never tried to talk to him about it. which he was grateful for. it would be a painful conversation, george knew, and he didn't think he was ready for that yet. 

sapnap rolled his eyes fondly as george dug into the cake slice. it was a chocolate one, layered with vanilla and what tasted like caramel. it was gone in seconds. he hadn't eaten anything as substantial as it in days, but sapnap didn't need to know that, no matter how much he ribbed george for being greedy.

"i'd love to stay, sap," george said, and it was true - if only his breaks weren't so short. he needed to get sleep with what little time he had. "but i have something important to do back home. i'll, uh, see you next week?" he gave an awkward smile and sapnap nodded, an amused look on his face.

"good luck, dude." sapnap turned away to clean a glass, and george hesitated, reaching out to him for a second, considering saying something nice. but in the end he just shook his head and withdrew his hand from the counter, hopping off his seat and into the rain once again.

this time george didn't run. he let the rain patter against him, let the water slide down the creases of his jacket. his skin itched where it made contact with the water, and he sighed, hurrying up slightly to get to his home. a sad, single apartment, with great plumbing and horrible everything else.

he reached the building, tucking his hands into his hoodie pockets as the doors slid open for him. george didn't look at anybody, and nobody looked at him, not amongst the flashing neon lights of the first floor enticing people to rent a room out. people who were like him, who had nowhere else to go.

once he climbed up the stairs and unlocked the door, george flopped onto his bed. he stripped off his wet jacket but didn't bother changing his jeans or his shirt, setting an alarm on his dingy, broken phone and hoping it would work. it wasn't hard to fall asleep, his eyes fluttering shut almost as soon as his head hit his dirty pillow.

out of all the luck in the world - well, maybe george didn't have the worst, but he definitely wasn't god's favourite. 


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> something goes wrong in the city.

_hey, george._

it didn't take long for the ai to respond, coming online as soon as dream texted, like it ( _he_ ) was at dream's beck and call. he liked that, in a way. maybe because it gave him a sense of control, and power, both feelings that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

**hi, dream. what's up?** was the reply, and dream smiled to himself. he got a few weird looks from the people sitting on the benches around him, but one person sent him an understanding look, to which dream looked back at his phone to avoid eye contact.

_nothing much, really._ he took a bite of his bagel and hummed for a moment, considering, before his fingers flew across his phone screen again. _i finally came up with an answer for that question you asked me yesterday._

dream had been bored, had asked george for a question, and the bot had given him "what should be the goal of humanity", which had sent him into an existential crisis as he watched acid rain slam against his brittle glass windows. **is that so? good for you! let's hear it.**

he bit at his nails in anxiety, finishing off his bagel, which kind of tasted like styrofoam. his shift was starting in twenty minutes, and the bus hadn't come yet. to distract himself, dream focused on texting george back. _i'm not exactly sure what it is, but i know what it should be. fixing this dump._

**care to explain?**

_this place sucks,_ dream answered, typing so fast it was a miracle he didn't make any typos. _there are thousands of people unemployed. the only people who get to do what they want are the ones lucky enough to be born into wealth._ he loved ranting about the state of the world. even if it was to an ai. _pollution is worse than it's ever been. even the rain is fucking poison at this point._

george took a while to answer, the three dots appearing and disappearing on dream's screen. that made sense - it was a long text. dream was getting more used to paradise every day; he didn't have to worry about appearances, or lying, or looking cool. he could just be himself, because he knew there was no one to judge him on the other side of the screen. 

**i get that. i'm really sorry you feel that way, dream.** of course it wouldn't understand. george was an ai. but the sentiment was appreciated, at least, and though dream hated to admit it the text did make warmth spread through his chest. 

he was about to reply, when the bus screeched to a stop in front of him. as fast as he could dream bounded down the sidewalk to reach it, clambering into the crowded bus. some people glared at him as he pushed past them, but eventually he made it to the back, where there was an open platform.

it was a little nauseating seeing the road speed by beneath him, but at least there was free air, and he wasn't being smothered every second by other people. dream pulled out his phone and opened paradise once again. 

_thank you, george._ the ai sent a smiley face emoji back. _i'm on my way to work right now. it's at a record store._ he wasn't exactly sure why he was telling george this, but it felt nice, to talk about himself to someone. it had been so long since anyone showed interest.

"you're pathetic," dream muttered to himself once he realised that his primary source of affection was a phone app.

**really? cool. are you really into music?** george replied with a beep, and dream hummed with thought. the bus was nearing the block he was supposed to get off at, but he still had time to talk to george. 

_i guess i'm not that into it, but i like music,_ dream texted. he placed his chin on his palm, furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at his screen. the bus was slowing down, and dream sighed, pocketing his phone. despite the rain the day before, the air was sweltering hot, and dream tugged at the sleeves of his hoodie.

the record store was an old place, except it was kept relatively clean and cozy for something so run-down, which was why dream was so grateful for his job there. and he was paid well, so it wasn't like it mattered anyhow. as long as he survived, he'd do anything. death was for quitters.

he hopped off the bus and onto the wet pavement, barely managing not to slip and fall over in a puddle of what he hoped was just water. the windows of the record store were lined with bright neon signs, like everything else was, advertising low prices and good music.

ever since the price of music streaming services had been inflated, making them inaccessible for everyone except the wealthy, record stores had been growing slowly more common around the city. dream couldn't quite remember it - the slow rise of the prices, that was - but he could remember his older friends back when he was a child complaining about it.

dream wondered what they were doing now, how they were living. if they were alive at all.

veering away from his dark thoughts, dream placed his hand on the glass door of the store, pushing it open with a creak. before he could enter, however, heavy footsteps and the loud sound of clicking came from the alleyway beside it. he looked around, but it was only him and the cars speeding past in the area.

with a strange sense of dread growing in the pit of his stomach, dream stepped away from the door, hoping the owner of the store would realise that he was late. he placed his hand on the wall next to it and peeked around the corner into the dingy, moss-ridden alley.

there were two people there, one with glasses perched on her nose, black hair pulled into a bun, straight-laced and no-nonsense. dream tilted his head and squinted at the other, a man who was so thin he barely took up any space, brandishing a sheet of paper toward the woman.

"this," he said in the distance. dream flushed with embarrassment as he strained to catch the man's voice, ashamed of eavesdropping, but a quick glance around told him that no one was there. "how did you find out any of this? who told you? what does this mean?"

the woman held her hand up, quieting the man. "i will explain all later, but i advise you to come with me right away." when he started to protest, she straightened, as if she was attempting to make herself look more intimidating. which she did. even dream shrunk back a little from across the way. "now, sir. or else there will be consequences."

dream stepped back hurriedly as the man grumbled out obedience and followed the woman out of the alleyway. he wasn't quick enough, though, as the woman caught sight of him when just outside the store, quite obviously staring at the both of them with curiosity.

"hello, user dream," she said, sending a shiver down his back. "i hope you're enjoying paradise so far. but if you value yourself and those that are close to you, i advise you not to inform anyone of this." she gestured between herself and the man. with a bow she stepped back and walked across the street, the man skittering behind.

as he stepped into the store, with shelves lined neatly with music discs and records, dream's hands shook against the handle. he closed his eyes and tried to come up with an explanation as to how she knew his name, how she knew he was a user. she was probably an employee there, but how did she recognise him? 

he pulled out his phone and stared at the app, eyebrows furrowing. there was something going on with paradise, and dream was determined to get to the bottom of it. 


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> honesty has never been george's strong suit.

when he got dream's message, george had nearly had a heart attack.

_are you really an ai?_ it had read. the three dots against the side of the screen had appeared after the first text, but after a few moments it disappeared completely, as if dream had decided against saying anything. george pushed himself away from his desk, breathing heavily.

he placed his palms over the buttons of his computer keyboard and sighed, mind whirring to think about what to say next. "shit..." he murmured under his breath, unable to tear his eyes away from the five words presented on the bright screen. **of course i am,** he replied, lying unabashedly, **why?**

the three-dot bubble appeared again on the screen, blinking in and out. george just wished he could get on with it. finally, the other settled on a text. _i don't know, george. you're just so... real._ he was about to spew bullshit about being pre-programmed and carefully coded as to be realistic, but another message followed.

_something really weird happened today george. just a few hours ago after i stopped talking to you and went to work._ three more dots, like dream couldn't stop chattering. he could be talkative when he wanted to be, george had found out, against his will. it was a little cute sometimes.

a little cute, and a lot annoying. though as much as he hated to admit it, george did like talking to dream. not when he was forced to, not when he was on the brink of falling asleep any second, but when days were better, when he didn't feel like he was going to starve to death -

at times it was nice to have someone to talk to. he knew it didn't make much sense, not when his whole job was centred around talking to people, but george was lonely. he'd never met anyone who he understood and liked as much as dream. and of course he had sapnap, and he loved him too, but it was different.

it was a different feeling in his chest. whenever he talked to dream. warmth spread through his cheeks, and sometimes he even found himself smiling at whatever dream said, or feeling sorry for the user. if george was any less stubborn, he would've even said that he liked dream.

but he wasn't, so he was still adamant in his belief that he resented dream like he did every other user of paradise.

dream stopped typing, and another text blipped onto the screen. _i said i worked at this record store, and there's this alley beside it. and when i looked, there were... two people, there. and one of them... knew, george. she knew i used paradise somehow. and she recognised me._

george's blood ran cold, and he cussed. it could've been any one of the high-ranking employees, whose recklessness and need for fear could cost george his own life. **that's really weird. maybe it was a coincidence or like, an elaborate prank?**

_she knew my name, george._ god, it just kept getting worse and worse. george took another drink of water and slammed the bottle down onto the desk, earning a few murmurs from the people around him. whoever that person was - didn't she recognise how unbelievably dangerous that comment was for his life?

it wasn't like any of them cared, but he thought at least they wouldn't just hand him over to death for fun. **sorry, dream. that must've been really freaky,** george typed back, trying to quell the tremor in his arms and hands, scared of making a typo in the message. 

_george... if you're lying, please just tell me. this whole thing is just really weird and i'm trying to get to the bottom of it... and if you're real, you can help._ the text sounded like a pile of bullshit, but something in it made george pause, fingers hovering over his keyboard.

if there was anything he'd learnt spending his days sitting there and waiting for dream to talk to him, is that dream was smart. he'd sent him countless puzzles and riddles from the pre-assigned tab full of them, and the user had been able to solve each of them under five minutes, every time, and it was impressive.

he was cunning, too, had told george plenty of stories about his youth and childhood and how he'd managed to get away with things no one else could. witty and funny and sly in the best ways. hope sparked in george's heart, like a flicker of a fire, that maybe, maybe things could turn out all right.

maybe dream could help him. it seemed like a big task for the both of them, but maybe the two of them was all it took. they could start with the small things, fix the world bit by bit, make sure no one else had to be treated like everyone around him was being treated.

when he looked up, george was struck by a strange sense of vertigo - the ceiling was high up, steel beams and wires stretching across the underside of the roof. it was almost warehouse-like, comparable to a factory, and fear jolted through his heart. paradise was big, and powerful, and if any of them tried anything they'd be handed over to the authorities.

it was hopeless. george was supposed to stay in line, make sure he wasn't suspect to anything. so he lied.

like he always did.

**sorry to disappoint, but i really am an ai. and i assure you nothing weird's going on in paradise :)** he pressed the enter button with a shaky finger, dropping his forehead down onto his desk. "i'm sorry," he murmured as if dream could somehow hear. 

_that first part might be true, but i know for sure your company's not right,_ dream replied, and george could almost hear the distress in his voice. he'd dealt with irritable people before, but this wasn't irritation - it was different. something calmer, yet angrier, as well. 

he laid his hands across the keyboard, anger seething up inside his heart, heat bubbling up in his chest. how could dream pretend like he was so smart, like he knew everything, when he barely knew anything that was going on?

deep inside george knew he was being a little of a hypocrite - after all, dream really had just asked - and if only he had responded. and it wasn't like dream was wrong, at all, about something being wrong about paradise. he had already figured out far more than anyone else did.

really, his cluelessness was somewhat george's fault, for lying every single time he typed out a sentence. it wasn't like honesty was ever one of his defining traits - he lied a lot. it was part of his job description. he lied to his users, to sapnap whenever he saw him. lying was as easy as breathing when you were doing it your whole life.

which is why george shouldn't have been blaming dream, except he was. he blamed him for making his stomach churn with hope and fear at the same time. he shouldn't have been blaming him, except it just made him hate dream more.

and like him a little more, too, if he was being honest.

george backspaced his text draft and bit his lip. **i'm sorry you feel like that, is there something i can do to help?** dream started typing up again, and tears started to prick at george's eyes no matter how much he tried to rub at them. 

_nothing, i guess. but thank you, george, for listening. even if you are a bit shady._ george curled the fingers of his hands into his pants and wished things were better, that he didn't have to lie. that he could speak to dream like he was a friend and not some kind of company-assigned project.

_you're real cool, for an ai. and i know technically i'm contributing to a company that i think is corrupt, but, well._ the three dots appeared again, and george smiled wistfully. he couldn't really find it in himself to hate dream wholeheartedly, not when he had such good intentions. _maybe you're not lying._

this made george's heart drop in his chest. dream really was trying to help, and was just doing what he thought was the right thing to do. and here george was, lying through his teeth with falsities dripping from every word he typed out, not giving him the full picture when all he wanted to do was help.

**aww, thanks, dream! you're pretty cool too. not as cool as me, though.** he couldn't bring himself to laugh at the joke with guilt raging in his chest, head pounding with voices contradicting each other, telling him what to do when all george wanted was to disappear.

he was on the wrong side of history, he knew, but when george looked up at the sky-high ceiling once again he couldn't dispel the hope rising within him.


	5. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the coffee shop across the street is far more pleasant than dream expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry they're kind of out of character in this 💔

dream squinted at the coffee shop across the way. he was across the street, but even from a distance he could see that the door was so worn down it was nearly off its hinges. every time someone walked out or in, it creaked so horrendously and so loudly dream could hear it.

so not government-funded, then, like most of the shops in the city. when the traffic slowed enough for it to be safe (or as safe as it could get), dream tugged his hoodie over his head and sprinted across, sneakers scraping against the asphalt. someone honked, and he rolled his eyes, flipping them off as he passed.

there was writing scrawled across the glass window with a marker, and dream was impressed by how it had lasted and was still legible despite the fact that it had clearly been there for quite some time. **_sap's frappes,_** it read, and despite everything dream let himself laugh at the rhyme.

somewhere a bell chimed when he pushed open the door. as he expected, the inside wasn't the fanciest, but it was much cleaner than he had expected it to be. the shelves were broken, and the glass displays had cracks spider-webbing across, but the fairy lights strung across the room along with the smell made the place seem much more pleasant.

"hi," dream said, slipping into one of the counter seats. the person behind it turned around and grinned at him. he had black hair, bangs swept across his grey eyes, with lightly tanned skin. one of his hands held a glass while the other held a rag, half-wet. "i like the decor."

"thanks, man," he answered, setting down the class. across his shirt, near the left side of his chest, it was written: _**sapnap.**_ the owner of the shop, or so dream guessed. there was something like a ribbon wrapped around his head as well, white and flowing in the slight wind that came from the open window behind him. "what can i get you?"

dream scanned the chalkboard menu, half-crumbling to pieces. "whatever a cinnamon latte is," he managed, "do you use real cinnamon?" sapnap nodded, and dream raised his eyebrows, impressed - cinnamon was hard to come by, and when it was on sale, it was usually incredibly expensive. 

the other seemed to know what dream was thinking and his grin turned more mischievous. "i have some friends who are... pretty on the wealthy side, i suppose," he explained, setting up the drink for dream, "that's how this place came to be. that being said, they can't contribute all that much." sapnap took out a carton of milk from a cooler. "i'm not that lucky," he laughed.

at that moment dream's phone chose to beep loudly. sapnap laughed and raised his eyebrows as he mixed milk into dream's latte. he nodded his head toward the phone and dream sighed, pulling it out to a familiar orange notification. 

"it's that stupid app, paradise," dream groaned. he felt bad for a second for calling it stupid seeing as his ai was the only thing keeping him sane, but he figured if he was going to do some snooping he might as well trash-talk while at it. "i got an ai... george."

sapnap stilled, before continuing to sprinkle cinnamon over the drink. "i have a friend named george, actually," he laughed, scooting the glass over to dream. the beverage looked more appealing than anything dream had seen in the past few weeks. "he's pretty cool... kind of _annoying,_ " he whispered with a playful tone, "i rarely see him, though."

"really?" dream asked, curiosity peaked as he sipped at the latte. it was just as good as it looked, and he was eager to take another sip; it was flavourful and warm, at least compared to the other bland coffees he'd been having. "why?"

"he's always busy working, apparently. that's what he tells me. i keep offering him a job here but he always refuses. if i'm being honest i feel like there's something weird going on." sapnap sighed and leaned against the counter while dream tried not to look _too_ interested. 

dream took another sip of his latte and went silent while sap talked to another customer, handing him a slice of cake as the other slipped him a few paper bills. "anyway," sapnap continued after he was finished, "he got this weird job a few months ago - like, august fourth, i remember because it was the day after my friend's friend birthday -"

he sat up a little straighter as sapnap rambled. "august fourth?" dream said, interrupting the flow of words, and sapnap nodded. something clicked in the back of his mind as he tugged at his dirty blonde hair, but he couldn't quite place what it was. something had happened that day. but what...

"mmhm. ever since then, he's been busy and withdrawn all the time," sapnap explained, taking dream's empty cup and placing it into the sink, "i wish he'd talk to me, you know? anyway, why are you so curious, dude?" he squeezed his wet rag to dry it, but dream was too distracted to reply.

"sorry, i have to go," dream said, hopping off his seat and slapping a few coins onto the counter, "thanks for the drink... and the talk. i think i just figured something out." he knew he was maybe talking too much, but sapnap didn't seem to understand, bewilderment written all over his face.

"um, okay. cool, man. no problem." 

without another glance back, dream rushed out the door, past the door that squeaked as he pushed it open. people glared and yelled at him as he ran by, but he didn't stop to say sorry or apologise. his apartment building was already in sight and dream ran in, tromping up the stairs.

the second his door was open he slammed it shut behind him, falling into his chair in front of his desk. he picked up a big pile of newspapers and articles and put them in his lap, sorting through them, fingers flipping past every single one until he found a section he had marked with **_august_** **.**

for days he had been collecting newspapers, trying to find anything shady going on, like a hawk watching from the sidelines for anything wrong. so far, he hadn't gotten anything suspicious yet - but if sapnap was telling the truth...

he set his phone face-up on the desk, typing a quick text to his ai. _hey, george, are they any results for incidents that happened on august 4th?_ dream paused before adding: _especially anything that hasn't been reported by the government-funded news._

**gotcha.** there was a loading circle on the screen as dream sorted through his papers, slipping out the files within the august section. his phone beeped again. **ah, sorry, but i couldn't find anything except the opening of the official museum. was that what you were looking for?**

_no,_ dream texted back, and nothing else. his eyes scanned the papers in hand, squinting at the words in small print. "ugh, no..." he murmured when he realised it wasn't the article he was thinking about, flipping to the next article. 

it was about a car accident, barely a few paragraphs - someone clearly had to fight to include it in the news at all. dream pressed his finger against one of the lines, font so small he had to lean in close to read it. "the incident wounded three people and killed one," he read out loud, eyebrows furrowing when the names of those people weren't listed.

_george, can you give me any info on the car accident on august fourth? please._

another loading circle, and another text. **i found a forum, but i'm not really sure. none of this seems reliable. you sure you want it?** dream closed his eyes and massaged his eyelids, taking a deep breath and messaging back with shaky hands.

_it's fine, george. i want it. please, just... send it._

**if you're sure,** george messaged back, followed by a link. dream gritted his teeth and clicked on it, and it took him to another page. it seemed to be an abandoned forum about a video game. he scrolled down a bit, chewing his lip as he saw nothing but talk of the game, when.

someone had mentioned the accident. a few more people joined the conversation, talking about it, and one user had claimed to have been there, even showing proof with a picture. "yeah, there was this one guy who got to the hospital but died," dream read aloud, "name was - _holy shit._ "  
  
  


he nearly dropped his phone, which was weird, because he didn't know what else he'd been expecting. his head spun, and his muscles felt all shaky as he collapsed back into his chair, staring at the name displayed on his phone. _george._

whoever sapnap's friend was, he was supposed to be dead. but he wasn't.

and dream had a pretty good guess as to what happened to him.


	6. six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george takes a risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aww rebel gogy

on the first week of his new "job", george thought that the paradise working headquarters where he stayed most of the time was impenetrable. no one got it when they didn't allow it, and no one got out until they were allowed to. a cage in the form of a building, plain and steel and impassable.

it seemed to be an unanimous agreement. don't try to break out, or else you'd end up dead, or worse. that's what he'd been told, at least, and george had always been too afraid to ask what the 'worse' part meant - it wasn't like he ever intended on finding out.

except. except one day, when he'd gone to get some water, george had overheard - well, he hadn't meant to, but it was almost impossible to ignore. two of the guards, standing by the door, puzzling over one of the keycard scanners. 

"must be broken," one of them had remarked, running their gloved hand over the small machine. the other held a card up to the scanner and the doors slid open, "yep. these doors should be high-ranking cards only, but, you know." they took the card and waved it around; it was blue. which meant it was one of the employee cards.

the other one spoke into a radio by their belt. "close the area by the bathrooms off," they barked into the transceiver, "station a few more guards here. don't let anyone in there, you hear me?" a few muffled words broke through from the other side, and george had slid away, then.

he thought nothing of it at the time. more guards probably meant it was more trouble than it was worth. 

back then, he'd been scared. he hadn't experienced, fully, yet, what it was like to work for paradise, had never seen anyone beg to not be demoted because they could barely pay for food as it was. he hadn't been desperate for a way out. back then, he hadn't known dream.

it was a little stupid, he knew. to completely change his worldview because of the existence of _one_ person. it wasn't like dream could help him, or even knew of his existence, or...

well, that wasn't exactly right, was it? dream did know he existed, just didn't know that he was... him. george knew he should've lied, said nothing came up for august fourth, ask him _are you sure you have the right date?_ but that nervous feeling of something hopeful had been stirring in his chest again.

so he sent dream the link. no one had noticed yet, not the higher-ups, thankfully, but it hadn't ended there. he wasn't going to let it. as soon as the long past memory of that broken keycard scanner had made itself present in george's mind, he knew what he had to do.

and dream was different. he cringed just thinking about that statement, about how he sounded so much like a girl from a romance novel, but george was sure of it. dream had this weird, mysterious aura about him, no matter how much he told george. every time he texted, warmth sparked in his chest. he almost made the job enjoyable, at times.

it was strange, but good. he knew on some instinctual level that he was lonely, that he had bought paradise, not because he was unlikeable, but because he was... lost. wandering?

george kind of liked him. maybe even loved. the kind of love that made him reckless. 

_hey, george._ "speak of the devil," george murmured under his breath as the message blipped onto his screen, although there was no real spite in his voice. he'd tried too hard to hate dream, and on some level he still did, but not as much as he'd liked, not as much as he'd expected.

**hey, dream. what's up?** he texted back, smiling slightly at the clacking sounds of his keyboard and the three dots that presented themselves on his screen. he shifted on his chair, making it creak. the clock announced that it was nearing two in the afternoon. soon, then.

god, he couldn't wait. he couldn't wait for the time to come, adrenaline coursing through his system before george had even begun to do anything. his leg was bouncing under the desk, careful not to tangle in the wires.

his computer beeped again. another text. _nothing much. i was just doing some more research on that accident on august fourth._ george smiled weakly at this, drumming his fingers lightly against his keyboard. _something really weird went on that day._

**did it?** george messaged back, knowing full well that he knew exactly what had happened on that day. a car had crashed into the pavement that day, resulting in three people with wounds and one casualty. except that wasn't right, and george knew that, because he was the casualty. 

he hadn't been killed, he'd been escorted back to the paradise headquarters and pronounced dead. george wondered how they did it - manage to convince the doctors that he was dead when there wasn't even a body to examine - but he never asked. he wasn't supposed to wonder. he was just supposed to sit there and talk to people who didn't even know who they were talking _to._

dream could figure it out. george was sure of it. _yeah... we've been lied to, that's all i'll say._ for a moment george wondered what dream meant by 'we', but another text followed shortly after. _i'm honestly just trying to figure things out right now._

**that's a good thing, isn't it? feels nice for the world to make sense.** his fingers hovered over the keyboard. **how are you feeling today, dream? i have a feeling something special will happen.**

_oh, i'm alright, i guess,_ was the following message, _and what do you mean by that?_ george glanced at the clock - a few more minutes, then. the anticipation made him reckless, and brave. the company advertised the ais as having random moods and feelings to make them seem more real, so it wasn't much of a stretch to talk about his own feelings. even if it was against the rules, he'd be long gone by the time they found out.

long gone. god, he couldn't wait. **nothing, really. i just kind of feel it.** his heart dropped when he realised that, if he left, he'd never talk to dream ever again. not unless he was incredibly lucky. it wasn't that he was attached to dream (except maybe he was, a little), but there was a melancholic feeling spreading through his chest anyway.

**dream, whatever happens. i want you to know that it's been an honour being your own paradise ai,** he typed quickly. the hands of the clock were ticking and george's hands flew across the keyboard to say what he wanted to say. **don't give up, okay?**

_i won't, george,_ dream replied, self-assured, before another text followed. _why? um, what is this about? do you have another daily topic for me or?_

george didn't have time to respond as he stood up, picking up his bottle. usually, he was supposed to set the computer on sleep mode, which would tell the user that the ai was loading, or some other excuse that george knew was bullshit.

this time he didn't bother.

his chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, pushing back from the desk. the area with the broken scanner was closed off, boarded up with wood and dark grey tape. two guards, firearms in hand and wearing vests, stood by, watching studiously for anyone who dared to come near.

george took a deep breath, looking back at his abandoned station. if his plan worked, he'd never see it again. he'd never talk to dream again. best case scenario, he'd have to run into the woods, live as a hermit, and never talk to anybody. _which is_ , george thought, _loads better than this stupid dump._

he looked back to the computer sitting on the table just around the corner. the worker assigned to it had been - well, george didn't exactly know. all he knew was that they were gone, which left a dusty monitor, blank and worthless and unseen.

with all the strength he could muster, george gripped the sides of the computer and ripped it out of its place. in his effort, the keyboard banged against the desk, making a loud noise. wires snapped and glass shattered as he smashed the monitor against the floor.

the ensuing sound was so loud people in the area turned to look. george kicked shards of glass, making them skitter across the floor, as he heard footsteps draw closer. as quick as he could he rounded the corner and pressed himself against the wall, half-obscured by the shadows.

his heart was beating too fast in his chest, loud in his ears like a drum. both of the guards thundered past, yelling as they turned around the corner to see the broken computer and the mess on the ground, with wires severed. through his heavy breathing george heard a few people shouting.

though he didn't stay long enough to make out anything - as soon as the guards turned their backs to his corner he wrapped his fingers around the straps of his backpack and took off. in his eagerness he nearly slipped, but george managed to keep his balance as he ran across the halls.

he ripped the tape from off the walls easily but the wood was nailed to the walls too deep in, and the boards wouldn't budge. with a cringe george dug his fingers into the wood, taking a step back to rip it from the walls. it creaked and the nail dug into the right side of the panel twisted.

across the hall the guards seemed to be returning back to check on the area, and george groaned, straining to move the wooden boards. finally, the wood snapped, the nail clattering to the floor as the right side of the panel dropped down to the floor with a crash.

george didn't waste any time pushing past, ignoring the pain in his splintered fingers. he fumbled for his keycard, pressing it against the scanner with shaking hands. for a moment, it didn't respond, and panic raced through his heart - but then it dinged, and the doors slid open.

someone yelled from behind him at the sight of the snapped boards and mess of tape. in his panic george let his card fall to the floor, shoes catching on the doorway as he sprinted through the opening, turning back for only a moment to pull the doors shut.

he didn't have any time to see what happened next as he rushed down the side of the building. a ladder leaned against the wall, and as george heard the faint sound of the doors sliding open once more accompanied with the click of weaponry and footsteps, he didn't have any time to make a decision.

the ladder was also made out of wood, and he hissed at the further pain in his hands as the splinters already in his skin dug even deeper. but he'd already made his choice and he forced himself to climb higher, nails digging into each rung as he went.

when he looked down, his head spun, vertigo making his world tilt. people were looking up at him and george had just enough time to gasp and press himself against the ladder before something darted past him, embedding itself into the wall. a bullet. an inch backward and he would've been _shot._

adrenaline pumped through his system, heart racing. his breathing got heavier as he climbed even higher on the ladder, trying not to think about how it could tilt back any second and he'd fall, toward the ground, spiralling down, down -

george gasped in relief as his hands met the concrete of the roof, despite the sting of his cuts and the blood running down his fingers. he pushed himself onto the roof and stumbled onto the warm ground, except there was a feeling across his calf - it was wet, kind of, like something was dripping down his skin...

the searing pain hit him all at once when he looked back to see a gash across his leg. george scrunched his eyes up and pressed his forehead against the concrete, hoping it would distract him heat crawling up his leg. when he opened his eyes again, the world was swirling around in a spiral of grey and dull blue.

screaming from below reminded him of the situation he was in, and what he had to do. a weak whine emitted from him as he dragged himself over to the edge, ignoring the agonising pain below his knee. once everything stopped blurring together george gritted his teeth and pushed against the tip of the ladder weakly, letting it topple toward the ground.

he didn't feel any remorse for the guards below who got caught under the falling ladder, or worse, those who had already been on the ladder. no, he was too distracted with propping himself up against the ground. luckily, the bullet hadn't dug too deep into his skin.

in fact, the offending bullet was nowhere to be seen. it had probably just skimmed past his flesh, but it still hurt. what hurt more, though, was the realisation that as he looked around, there was no other way down from the top of the building. no ladders or staircases down.

hope lit in his chest when he crawled toward the other side of the building and noticed there was another, shorter building right beside. except the wall didn't have any ladders down either, and the hope was crushed to be replaced by a heavy feeling of dread that made his stomach churn as george realised.

he'd have to jump.


	7. seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a plan goes off-schedule.

dream knew something was wrong.

from the moment george sent those texts dream _knew_. it was weird. the ais were supposedly programmed to replicate human moods and feelings, but they never talked about them unprompted, like george did. and when he had to wait for ten minutes after his last message, and yet still no reply for george?

it was the final nail in the coffin for him, even when his paradise app went dark and they claimed to be experiencing difficulties. he scanned the screenshotted notification again, and dream rolled his eyes. "bullshit," he murmured under his breath, setting his phone screen-down on the table.

a sheet of paper as laid out in front of him, half-erased pencil scribblings all over it. dream's handwriting wasn't the best, and the smudged graphite made it all the more messy, but at least it was legible. a new - _something_ , dream couldn't be bothered to find out what it was - was scheduled to be presented in the official museum at exactly two in the afternoon.

"meaning the guards manning the abandoned store across the street will be absent from their usual stations," dream read aloud his own writing, squinting at the paper to make it out. he muttered under his breath the rest, pacing the room until he couldn't stand to look at the smudged grey mess.

he collapsed into his chair and sighed. it was thirty minutes to two, and he knew he should've been at the city, except worry was curling in his heart like a vice. he could've done something wrong, or miscalculated, or gotten completely false information entirely. dream knew that it wasn't likely...

"don't give up, okay?" dream muttered, reciting george's final words to himself before groaning, "it's not that easy," he protested, before realising that he was talking to his ceiling. that stupid app really was making him lose his mind, but dream would be damned if anyone else lost theirs. 

so he stood up, letting his chair knock back against the wall, and took a deep breath. "but i won't," he announced, trying to make himself believe it, "i won't give up." dream stared at his mint green walls, some parts peeling away or riddled with stains, and sighed again. he sounded like a cheesy adventure movie protagonist.

with dread in his heart dream hoisted his backpack up around his shoulders and left, swinging the door shut behind him. the halls of his apartment building were mostly deserted - people were either in their rooms or at the museum. dream hurried down the stairs and was out the doors before anyone could see him.

the air that met him as soon as he stepped out was smokey and dusty as always. he coughed and looked right, down the pavement, jogging toward the bus stop. there was a clock hung up on one of the building fronts that told him it was twenty to two. dream still had time.

the bus arrived on time, surprisingly, and as usual dream rushed to the back of it into open air, watching the grey-black road speed under the wheels of the vehicle, below the platform he was standing on, head spinning in a pleasant way at the sight.

it screeched as it stopped at another one of the stations, and dream hopped off, boots scraping against the sidewalk. the museum was just a few blocks down across the street, and a huge crowd of people were gathered in front of it, desperate for even a crumb of free entertainment.

"sad," dream said to himself, despite the fact that he knew he was a raging hypocrite, trying to take down one of the largest companies in the city on his own. he hurried in the opposite direction of the museum, knowing that the abandoned store was near. except when he turned the corner, the guards were still there, keeping watch.

with a groan of frustration, dream checked the time - fifteen minutes to two. which was a long time to spend just waiting around. he caught sight of a familiar cluster of walls and buildings and raised his eyebrows, pushing past someone to see the coffee shop he'd been to a few days before.

_**sap's frappes,**_ its name was, and it seemed to be quite empty compared to the days before. dream had fifteen minutes left to waste, surely he could spend a moment getting cake and coffee, especially since it was so much better than the other cafes in the area.

thankfully, the door didn't collapse when he pushed it open. the shop was completely empty except for a familiar person behind the counter, humming to himself as he fiddled with something. "hey, sapnap," dream said, making him jump as he whirled around, "hope i'm not a bother."

"it's cool, dude. i haven't been getting many customers either. most of them are at the museum," sapnap commented, leaning forward on his arms, "what can i get you?" dream chose the drink on the menu that seemed the simplest, lemon tea, and slid into the bar seat. "what you been up to since you last ran away from here?" he grinned.

dream flushed red at the memory of sprinting out of the cafe like his feet were on fire. "eh, nothing much," he replied, tapping his fingers against the countertop. he felt a little bad for sapnap, his obliviousness to the shady things circulating around paradise, but he figured he'd be happier that way.

"doesn't seem that way," sap remarked, bending down to retrieve ice from the cooler to drop into dream's drink, "but i won't push. are you planning on going to see the museum? the opening of whatever new thing there is this time?"

"tch, no," dream scoffed at the idea, before remembering that his plan was supposed to be a secret, "i was never interested in that kind of stuff. who knows, maybe i'll change my mind today." he sipped at his tea and, to make it seem a little more believable, added, "doubt it, though."

the other laughed, crossing to the window behind him. he swept the curtains, so dirty that their red looked more like grey in some places, and looked out the glass frowning. dream tilted and craned his neck to try to see what sapnap was looking at.

most of it was obscured, but dream managed to catch a glimpse of a quick flash of orange and red, like a fire, and smoke drifting through the air. nothing of the ordinary, but sapnap sighed and backed away, making sure to close the curtains so that neither of them could see what was going on.

when dream tilted his head in curiosity, sapnap shrugged, massaging the bridge of his nose. "it's nothing. i'm just worried. some suspicious shit has been going on around the city, apparently, heard it from a few friends." at this dream's heart dropped. "people going missing. they keep asking the guards to do their job but so far - well. they're the government ones, they protect nothing but the buildings."

"huh. where'd you hear that? do you know anything else?" dream knew he was getting a little too overzealous, but sap didn't seem to mind.

sap opened his mouth for a moment but at that moment the door creaked again, bell chiming. they both turned to see someone, bent over by the door, one of their arms wrapped around their stomach while the other gripped the edge of the door.

he lifted his head weakly, face pale. "sap..." he said weakly, and sapnap looked stricken.

"holy shit. let me see if i have anything to clean you up and treat you - wait here. try not to move around too much." sap hurried to the backroom. at the last moment he turned to look at dream, meeting his eyes, a silent request. dream nodded and sap sprinted into the storage roon.

whoever he was looked to be around dream's age, with dark brown hair and pale skin, slightly grey from his injuries. there was blood running down his arms and one of his legs was not only bleeding, but twisted the wrong way entirely. the sight of it made dream nauseated.

"what happened?" he asked but the other just groaned and propped himself up on his arm. his brown eyes blinked hazily as he squinted at dream, who was staring worriedly. he glanced at the dingy clock hanging on sapnap's wall - it was nearly time, but he couldn't go now. _damn it,_ dream cussed in his mind.

but his thoughts were interupted by a hand on his shoulder. a low, painful whimper came from the boy under him, whose face was filled with confusion as he stared, eyebrows furrowing.

_"dream?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this isnt so good, i had a breakdown halfway through writing it for other reasons ;)


	8. eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a discovery, a conversation, and a fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: in this chapter, a broken limb is splinted and treated. the medical procedures might not be the most accurate, so please don't try this in the case you break a bone. also, if the descriptions bother you, just skip over the first seven paragraphs.

the door had been locked and the closed sign hung up. curtains drawn shut, not allowing any of the light to pass through the windows, and though the lights were on they flickered every now and then, making dream shiver. 

"are you sure you don't want us to bring you to the hospital?" sapnap asked, to which george's eyes filled with fear and he shook his head no, "dude, i swear i'll try to pay as best as i can. your leg is broken, you can't just -" george glared and shook his head again, and sapnap sighed, "- fine."

dream looked worriedly on as sapnap felt up george's leg, making the latter wince and grit his teeth in pain. "so the bone isn't sticking out, obviously," sapnap said, and dream cringed just imagining it, "but it's twisted real bad. so i'm going to have to splint it." when they both looked at sap with confusion, sap made a jerking motion with his arm. "straighten it, basically."

george recoiled for a moment before straightening, looking away. "fine," he gave in, voice hoarse, and it was the first time dream heard him talk, "make it quick." there were white goggles nestled in his hair, but they were slipping; dream adjusted them for george, who smiled just slightly up at him.

they both looked back to sapnap, who was staring at george's leg, eyebrows furrowed. with a sickening snap, he twisted his hands along with george's leg, and george yelped, burrowing his face into dream's hoodie. dream blushed but placed his hands in george's fluffy brown hair anyway, stroking back and forth gently to comfort him.

his leg was at least straighter now, though still covered in grime, dirt, and drips of blood. george gave a shaky breath before withdrawing from the fabric of dream's jacket. "thanks, sap," he said weakly. he enunciated his words weirdly, and dream squinted when he realised what was so off about it. nobody in the city spoke like that.

"it's cool, man. you're my friend. i'd treat your wound, but i don't have anymore bandages. i'll have to go across the street to get some." george opened his mouth to protest, but sapnap glared. "shut up. if you don't want to go to the hospital, this is the least i could do."

"wait, but -" he put emphasis on his t's, "- you don't have to -"

interrupted by sapnap, who didn't even have to say anything, just sent him an aggressive look. george sighed and shrugged, falling back against the counter. the splinters dug into his fingers had been removed and the cuts on his arms had been treated and bandaged, but dream still wondered how he'd gotten them.

sapnap sent dream another look before pocketing his wallet and walking out the creaky door. a bell chimed (dream still didn't know where that sound came from) when he closed it shut behind him, and dream and george were left in the blinking lights.

"so," dream started, "how do you -" he'd been meaning to ask ever since george had looked up with those hopeful, albeit perplexed look in his eyes, "- how do you know me?" now that george seemed to be more lucid, he averted his eyes, looking down at the countertop.

"you already know," george replied, and dream felt the strange urge to laugh at the weird way he pronounced his words. he didn't have it in him, though, because george's voice was cracking and his shoulders were tensed up, "you're smart, dream."

of course he already knew. it had seemed to far-fetched before, but now it was painfully obvious, everything clicking together like the pieces of a puzzle. george's supposed death at the same time he'd gotten a "new job" that required him to be working almost always. the way his ai and sap's friend shared a name. the way he _knew_ dream.

with a strange sense of hesitation, dream took a deep breath and went for it. "you're my ai, aren't you?" he said, and george's silence was all the confirmation he needed. "but, i don't understand. what, are you some kind of - cyborg? android?"

at this, george gave a little huff of laughter. "nope," he replied, "i'm one hundred percent human." his voice was almost bitter, like he didn't want to be. like he regretted it. dream massaged the bridge of his nose, mind working overtime to try to grasp what was going on.

"so you were lying to me?" dream questioned, sounding more indignant than he really felt.

george seemed to take offense at his words, though dream couldn't blame him. the guy had just broken his leg. "well, i didn't have a choice, did i?" he leaned forward on his bandaged arms. "i don't know if you know this, but you're not my first client. and yeah, i lied to all of them. what makes you think you're special?"

dream didn't know why he shot back, retaliated like he always did, especially when he knew george was probably in a distressed state. _he's in a lot of pain right now,_ dream tried to reason with himself, but words were already flowing out of his lips before he could stop them.

"it doesn't change the fact you lied to me! you just sat there and let me pour my heart out to a stranger i didn't even know? do you know how i - do you even fucking know how weird that is?" george made a _tch_ noise and turned away. "you did this to other people, too? what, did they also find out you lied about who you were and who -"

before he knew it there was a hand on his wrist. "wh - i didn't have a _choice_ , dream. it was either lie or die." in any other situation dream would've laughed at the accidental rhyme, but all he felt welling up inside of him was heat and anger. "don't act like you're the victim, you're the one who bought paradise!"

"fine, maybe i did some wrong, but that doesn't mean you're completely innocent!" dream crossed his arms as george just chose to look away. "aww, poor little gogy, forced to lie and sit and talk all the time!" george's eyebrow twitched but he didn't respond. "you're the one who got yourself into that situation, anyway!"

dead silence. george let out a heavy breath, as if his anger was seeping out of him. "how do you know that?" he asked, quietly, before shaking his head. "wait, don't say anything. i don't want to know." 

dream let himself relax, the heat in his chest fading away to be replaced by a sensation of emptiness. like a gaping hole in the pit of his stomach. regret started to curl up in it as he stretched his arm out to reach for george. "wait, i'm - i'm sorry -"

"don't talk to me," george said hollowly, determinedly facing the other direction though it must have been a strain on his leg. dream didn't push, instead sending one last sorrowful glance before letting the subject drop.

when sapnap came back, later, with bandages, he asked the two what they'd done while he was gone, to which george just shrugged and replied: "nothing".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry sorry for the short chapter! but i'm actually quite proud of this one, i hope you all liked it ^^


	9. nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream tries to get back on track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the dream team read fanfictions and honestly the fear i have writing this is astounding (◕ ɔ ◕✿)  
> joking, i love writing this. but, uh, look away, dteam. this fic's not THAT good.

"jesus, sapnap, how old _is_ this song?" dream asked, shoving a flashlight into his backpack. george watched as he did, looking for any sign of hostility or anger, but there wasn't any. maybe he had overreacted. to be fair, his leg was hurting like a bitch...

" _use the sleeves of my sweater, let's have an adventure -_ i don't know, man, it's just old. but it's good, isn't it?" sapnap nudged dream with his elbow. "i found an old record of it from that dingy backroom of the restaurant across the street that got closed up. it's called sweater weather."

dream looked like the embodiment of a loading screen, and george had the urge to laugh at him. "you went digging through an abandoned restaurant?" he questioned, while sap grinned abashedly and averted his eyes. "and what the fuck is a sweater weather?"

"hey, don't ask me, dude," sapnap said, crossing over to sit next to george in one of the bar seats. he'd been nice enough to get a cast for for his broken leg, and though it was heavy and looked weird, george was grateful. sap was annoying, but he'd always been kind.

unlike a certain someone.

he knew that maybe it was a little unreasonable to be so mad at dream - after all, he _had_ lied. but then again, it wasn't like he had a choice. what did dream want him to do, just die so he wouldn't have to hurt dream's feelings? that was ridiculous. though dream was right about the fact that he'd gotten himself into the situation in the first place -

his head was starting to pound again, so george stopped thinking about it, instead choosing to prop his chin up on the counter and stare at dream, shoving his things into his backpack. earlier, he'd laid out his plans for george, with a careful calmness in his voice, like he was trying his damnedest not to offend him.

on one hand, the effort was appreciated. on another hand, george hated feeling so pitied and coddled. the second dream had finished with his explanation he had retreated back to the counter to brood. sap had laughed at the sight, and he now was rubbing george's back comfortingly.

"don't be so mopey, dude," he said, to which george made an annoyed sound, "dream didn't mean it." 

"i know," george responded, and he _did_ know, except he was always taught to be anything but rational. it was easier to be angry without reason. "it still pissed me off, though," he added, grumpily, and sapnap did nothing but laugh, which was a relief, at least; he didn't need pity. he needed normalcy.

and that was what it gave him, sapnap being so snarky and insensitive. it made george feel better. dream was zipping up his backpack, finally done with packing, and he hoisted it over his shoulders. his hair seemed to bounce as he turned on his heel, and even george had to admit it was a little cute. if only there wasn't that mask covering his face.

it was shaped like a plate, cardboard spray-painted white, with two dots and a long curvy line drawn in marker, which were what george assumed to be eyes and a mouth. he'd caught a glimpse of dream's face right as he'd fell into the shop, but the next time he'd gotten a good look at him, the mask was on.

"i'm ready to go," dream said, looking back and forth between the entrance and george and sapnap, sitting by the counter, "um, george, do you not have any supplies or anything? i mean, what's in your backpack?"

"just personal stuff. sorry, didn't have any time to gather survival resources while i was getting shot at," george snapped. dream crossed his arms, and george sighed, massaging his forehead. "sorry. no, yeah, this is all i got." he hefted his own backpack onto the counter.

what he'd said was true - he barely had any money as it were, so he'd just swept everything in his personal cubicle and his company-assigned dorm into his backpack. it was all he could afford to do. 

dream frowned. "let's go, then." he unlocked the door and sapnap jumped up onto the counter, sliding from it a second later. "jesus, man, just go around the counter like a normal person would," he said as sap pushed it open, removing the closed sign.

"nope," he replied jovially. george sat up onto the counter too before jumping off of it. it ticked him off a little how well dream and sapnap seemed to get along. though george had known sapnap longer, it was like sap and dream were the best of friends all of a sudden.

_you're just getting angry over everything at this point,_ george told himself. he followed dream out the door after thanking sapnap for the hospitality and the medicine (along with a promise to repay him, to which sapnap just groaned). 

the two boys were left alone, then, outside sapnap's coffee shop. all the chaos that had come from the museum's event had seemed to die down, and though there were still a throng of people by the steps, there were considerably less, and the sound of shouting was way fainter.

"what should we do now?" dream asked, and george crossed his arms. he'd been planning to run into the woods and live there forever to avoid any type of human interaction, except he wasn't quite sure whether dream wanted to that. he'd wanted to take down paradise.

and he was much more ambitious than george was; george would give him that.

"maybe we could go back to my apartment," dream suggested, "we have nowhere else to go, after all. we can plan our next move then -" he faltered, turning to look at george, "- um, if you want to join me, that is."

dream seemed so sincere and kind that george softened a little, the anger quelling in him if only for a moment. "fine. but like you said, it's not like i have a choice. paradise is probably after me. they get rid of all the people who know the truth about them." he looked down at his feet. "well. i've never heard of anyone succeeding in escaping before."

"you must be pretty special, then," dream said, so painfully earnest that george almost smiled. "now, let's get going, before -"

he was interrupted by the approaching sound of footsteps and shouting. "there! they're over there!" a voice yelled, and by the sound of it quite a bit of people were running toward them, as the ground seemed to almost shake at the force of the steps.

"shit," dream cussed, wrapping his hand around george's wrist and pulling him along down the street, "this way! run!" he pulled him toward the road as they run, except with every step pain shot up george's leg, and he yelped out as soon as they started to run. "oh, right - shit, shit."

george bent over, groaning, trying to ignore the searing agony crawling up his broken limb. "stay still, okay?" dream demanded, and before george could ask what exactly dream was doing, dream bent over to hook his arm below george's knees, scooping him up bridal-style.

at the sudden action george screeched, except dream was already running. "let me go! put me down!" he yelled, before his eyes widened at the sight of guards marching down the street with guns in hand, ready to shoot. "never mind! keep running!"

it was a little nice, actually, to not have to exert any energy, except the constant bouncing and the sound of yelling was making him nauseated. "don't worry, i won't put you down," dream reassured, though he was out of breath, "holy - why is this street so long?"

he kept on sprinting forward, but george could tell dream was getting tired, and despite everything, he couldn't help but feel bad. which was why, when one of the guards raised his gun to shoot, george gritted his teeth and threw his arm behind dream's head.

a strangled shriek was ripped from his throat as every nerve in his arm felt like it was being lit on fire. blood was streaming down his skin already as tears dripped down his cheeks. "what the fuck just happened?" dream asked as he kept running, tilting his head slightly to see.

"i just took a bullet for you, moron! you're welcome! now can you stop being so nosy and keep running!" he screamed back, still panting at the pain in his limb. george propped himself up with his other arm, looking to the right to see a growth of trees slightly below the ground that seemed to lead into a forest of some kind. "there!"

dream didn't question it, just veered to the right and slipped between two buildings. the soldiers behind them rushed to get through, and while they had the momentary stall, dream set his jaw and jumped down the ledge to get to the forest.

it was a rough slide, but dream seemed okay. george, however, tumbled out of his arms and slid against the dirt, screeching again at the agony racing up his nervous system. he stood up, breathing heavily. "come on, come on!" dream yelled, wrapping his arm around george's torso and supporting him as they ran into the woods.

the sound of gunfire and footsteps had ceased. "did we - lose them?" george croaked out, voice cracking.

"i don't know," dream replied simply, leading george into a small alcove of rocks hidden by a cluster of trees. it seemed like it could cave in any moment, but at least it gave shelter and a hiding place from the guards. "they really are after you, huh."

"you think?" george snapped, pressing his arm next to the bullet wound to soothe the pain, "shit. this hurts so fucking bad." dream fell against the side of the little cave, panting heavily, and examining the scratches and lines of blood on his fingers and arms.

george wanted to cry. he wanted to go home. he wanted everything to be okay. "it's okay," he heard dream reassure him, though it seemed so far away, "it's okay. let's just - rest. i'm here, george, i'm here."

and though he hated to admit, it eased the pain just a little more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update! hope you liked this one tho ^^


	10. ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bad news spreads around the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for all the confusion with the filler chapter count! there will be at least twenty chapters if all goes as planned, so don't worry. anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter! just two bros in the woods...

dream's hands were on his arm, smoothing back and forth, and george couldn't tell whether it was making the pain worse or better.

"i'm going to take out the bullet," dream said, voice low and soft like he was comforting a wounded animal, "you stay still, okay? it's just going to hurt more if you move around a lot." the condescending tone in his voice made anger course through george again, but instead, he nodded.

"i'll try," he managed hoarsely, his uninjured arm coming up to paw at the fabric of dream's hoodie, a bright lime green stained with dirt and blood. dream gave a huff that sounded like it bordered a little on a laugh, running his hand along the wound once again. "hurts."

his only response was a _shush,_ as dream frowned in concentration and held tight to george's arm. "steady," he murmured, fingers poised over the scar. blinding, white hot pain flashed across george's eyes and he screamed - a moment later, dream's hands were wrapped tight around his arm again. "relax," he was saying, though george's ears were still ringing, "relax. it's over."

george fell limp into dream's arms, breathing ragged. "it's over," dream repeated, reassuring him, hand still squeezing his shoulder. "okay, so, the bleeding's stopped, surprisingly. for the moment, at least." 

"pog," was all that george managed to say, and dream laughed incredulously, george assuming it was because of the unfamiliar word. he had to laugh too, though it was weak and more of a pathetic attempt at a snicker. it was a little funny, at times, how different they spoke. 

he watched as dream dug around in his backpack for a roll of bandages and some cotton. dream carefully ripped off some of the cotton and poured a bit of water into it, stroking it along the edge of george's wound. it hurt, and he winced, but it was nothing compared to his broken leg or the removal of the bullet in his arm.

"pretty lucky it wasn't that deep," dream noted, cutting off a strip of the bandages. he lifted george's arm, gently, winding it around the top of the wound and working his way down the length of the scar. every once and a while george would cringe, and dream would use his other hand to brush his knuckles against george's skin comfortingly.

"didn't feel that way," george whined. dream just rolled his eyes and george stuck out his tongue, though he had to admit it did feel pretty good, the soft fabric against his skin and dream's weirdly callused palms cupping his arm. he ripped off another piece of bandage to secure over the end of the previous strip.

george flexed his fingers, running his other hand over the bandages. pain still shot through his arm when he pressed down, but the rough texture of the fabric felt nice under his arms. it looked cool, as well, the bandages reaching up to his knuckles, and he smiled at the thought.

hesitantly, he reached out to touch dream's shoulder. he jumped, turning from shoving his medical supplies back into his bag, looking at george with just as much reluctance in his eyes. "thanks, dream," george said, "for - you know. patching me up. carrying me, back there, when they were after us..."

"oh, it's fine," dream responded almost instantly, "what did you expect me to do? leave you there to die? i don't think so." 

"i've been, like, a dead weight," george admitted, though the words tasted weird on his tongue, "like, useless. so, sorry about that." at this, dream tipped his head to the side and smiled, grin somehow crooked and soft at the same time. he moved to place his own hand on george's shoulder.

when dream spoke, george wished for a moment he had more to look at than a mask with a sloppily drawn face on it. "george. it's fine. you're not a dead weight. paradise was awful, i'm glad you escaped." he was so sincere, though a second later his smile faltered. "even if... you lied."

the bitterness in his voice was obvious, and george felt conflicted - did he pity dream? angry at him? he wasn't so sure, but what he was sure of was that the heat building in his chest was getting really annoying. "well," he said, his familiar snappishness coming back to him, "i'm sorry i didn't have a choice."

instead of retaliating, dream stayed silent, adjusting his mask on his face and sitting back. they leaned back against the rocks in silence. george found himself thinking that the pattern on dream's mask was a little eerie, so emotionless and happy at the same time, somehow...

after a long, uncomfortable period of quiet, dream stood up and brushed himself off, crossing his arms. "we should probably try to get back to the city," he suggested. george scrambled up as well, tucking his goggles behind his ears again.

"are you crazy? you saw how desperate they were to kill us, they're going to be after us," george protested, and when dream said nothing, he continued, "we'd die if we go back. this is the safest place that we can -"

"only for a while, george," dream said, impassively, "i promise. just to see what's going on over there, okay? updates. besides, we can check if sapnap's okay. and if you're too - _scared -_ " the way dream said the word made george scowl, "- i can go alone. i just thought maybe you'd want to come with."

he frowned, but admitted to himself that dream had a point. "fine. but only for a bit. and not because i'm scared," he added, despite the voice saying in his head that he was, in fact, scared, "i'm just... cautious. since they want to kill us, if you've forgotten already."

dream nodded, although he still seemed frustratingly condescending. they walked over to the mouth of the cave and after making sure that the coast was clear of guards and soldiers, they started to hike back up the hill.

george almost regretted being so mean, if only it were to ward the awkwardness away, except the deed had already been done, and he doubted he could say anything without dream just responding half-heartedly. pain made him snappish, and despite the treatment he was aching all over.

the ledge was steep, and dream looked up, rubbing his chin. "you climb onto my shoulders, okay? since you're the one with the broken leg. i think i can climb up myself." despite the feeling of helplessness that washed over him george agreed, scrambling onto dream's shoulders with difficulty.

"sorry," he said, monotone, when he accidentally scratched his fingers down dream's back in attempt for balance. dream muttered back a _you sure don't sound like it_ as he straightened, george wobbling on his broken leg atop dream's shoulders. with the extra height he was able to climb onto the higher ground easily.

after that, dream dug his fingers into the rock, climbing and scratching at the soft patches of grass on top as george watched, making no effort to help him - partly because of spite, and partly because of his hurt arm. once dream managed to scramble and throw himself onto the ground beside him, they both stood up, brushing the dirt off their clothing.

"so, where to n -" before george could say anything, dream grabbed his elbow and pulled him abruptly to the right, stumbling over each other's feet. "- what the hell -" his eyes grew wide when he noticed the guards standing by the space in between two buildings that they'd gone through just before.

"behind that building," dream murmured, and george had no choice but to obey. they hurried along to press themselves against the wall of another one of the buildings, and though george stuck his tongue out in disgust at the cement peeling away, they both kept quiet until they heard the slight footsteps of the guards moving away.

dream crept on through the crack. george's heart was pounding in his chest, the sound nearly heard in his ears, but he followed along anyway. the other stopped dead in his tracks, the heels of his sneakers sliding against the dirt, and george cussed when he ran into his back.

then he heard it.

"from now on," a voice was saying, fuzzy like they were speaking through a megaphone or into a mic, "we urge all citizens to be on the look-out for these two people. descriptions will be posted up around the city." there were sounds of yelling and protests. "these men are declared, not just enemies of the paradise company, but as the enemies of this government and district, as well."

it felt like his blood was turning to ice with how cold his skin was all of a sudden, goosebumps appearing all over his arms. dream had frozen in place, and he had seemed to stop breathing. george could relate to the feeling.

"bring these two in; alive or dead, it doesn't matter. people who do will be awarded." at this, there were sounds of murmuring and excited whispering, and george dug his nails into his palms to keep himself from crying or screaming out loud.

a different voice started to speak, deeper and more deadpan. "do not hesitate to kill on sight. and if i or any representative of the government finds out that anyone has associated or helped them in any way -" george stepped back, feeling as if his heart was stopping in his chest -

"there _will_ be consequences."


	11. eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george and dream explore the woods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get ready for a LOT of banter, filler, worldbuilding, and character development - 'cause that's mostly what the next few chapters are going to be.

the woods were crowded over by tree branches and grass, but this time, it was more of a distraction than a safe haven. dream scratched at his arms, trying his best not to trip over the roots that jutted out of the dirt, looking down at his feet as they walked.

he felt like he needed to do or say something, but george hadn't said a word since they'd snuck away from the city and down back to the forest again, and dream had taken that as a sign that the other didn't want to talk. it ward hard to keep his mouth shut but he did, anyway.

until he couldn't hold it anymore. "i'm sorry," dream said, and george jumped at the sound, his face hitting a low-hanging tree branch square in the nose. dream's arms shot out - one wrapping around george's waist, the other around george's elbow, pulling him upright. "and, uh, sorry about that too."

george just made an annoyed sound and kept walking. it was quiet again, for a while, except for the crunch of grass beneath their own shoes. finally, george sighed, heavily, almost dramatically, and dream whipped his head around to look at him.

"it's me who should be sorry," he said, arms crossed tightly against his chest. he was wearing a black shirt and an unzipped dark purple hoodie, and though it looked too hot for a jacket, george seemed to be stubborn in keeping it on. "i'm the one who dragged you into this."

"no you're not," dream protested, placing his hand on george's shoulder and ignoring the hurt in his chest when the latter shrugged him off, "like i said, i was planning on exposing paradise anyway. either way, i would have been wanted. if i succeeded, i mean," he added, a blush spreading across his face.

except all he got as a reply was a shrug and george pulling his jacket closer to his body like it was cold, when it really wasn't - dream could feel sweat at his hairline already, and he swiped it away with a groan. 

he had no idea where they were going. away from the city, away from the ledge, but other than that neither of them had a plan. for now he told himself that they were just waiting for all the commotion to die down, to reassure himself that they weren't being completely useless.

but they were stuck there, wandering through the woods, pushing away spiny leaves and tree branches. 

"don't blame yourself," dream said, the awkwardness weighing down on him, as george just hunched over more, scratching his fingers against his bandaged arm. the soft sound it made was slightly satisfying, and dream ran his hands along rough tree bark as he skipped over another root. "please. i don't want you to."

for the first time since the overheard announcement george softened, the grip on his own shirt loosening. "thanks," he replied, reluctance in his voice, "you know, back... in the facility. when i was just - sitting, at a computer all day, typing away to someone... well, there was someone before you."

dream was quiet as he let george continue, suspecting that this was the only shot at getting george to open up. "she was nice. unlike the users before that." he shivered, fidgeting with his jacket sleeves. "and she wrote songs and stuff, and it was pretty cool. then i started to get to human-like, and i was replaced. still don't know where she is now, if she's still using paradise."

"that sucks," was all dream could say, tentatively placing his hand on george's shoulder - this time he wasn't pushed away. 

"it does. you reminded me of her, a bit," he told dream, and when he looked up there was honesty and sorrow in his eyes all at once, "not in personality, or anything. you two are completely different. but, in the way that - i really wanted to hate you at first, but i just couldn't."

at this dream wrapped his arm around george's shoulders, pulling him close into his side. to his surprise, george actually smiled instead of saying something mean or pulling away. "guess i was too likeable," he remarked.

george sniffed and jutted his chin out. "don't flatter yourself," he said, grabbing dream's arm and throwing it off his shoulders, though as he sped up and walked ahead of dream the latter could tell he wasn't actually upset, if the small smile on his face was any indication.

the silence was less suffocating and more comfortable, maybe due in part to the more relaxed look that george had, the tension in his shoulders not as prominent as before. along with that, the growth of trees seemed to be getting thinner and less crowded. when dream looked down, he realised they were on a path.

when he knelt down to inspect it, george sent him a weird look but stopped to wait for him anyway. tracing their footsteps back, he notice that the path, which was a sandy brown compare to the lush green of the grass, had started just a few feet back, coming out of nowhere like the rest had been covered up or rubbed away.

dream furrowed his eyebrows and pressed his hand against the ground, frowning at the weird feeling beneath his palms, something poking at his skin. he scratched at the dirt and came up with a piece of shrapnel, rusted and broken.

"that's weird," he remarked, holding it up to the light, where the silver parts that were still visible glinted, "there... doesn't seem to be any other buildings around here. maybe it was from some kind of traveller?" he pressed the metal into george's hands, the tips of his fingers brushing against his palm.

"maybe there's one up ahead. a building, i mean," george suggested, examining the metal himself, and dream nodded. they both started walking along the path again, though this time they seemed to be more cautious.

after a minute of walking down the path dream caught a sliver of grey between two trees. he tugged at george's jacket and pointed at it. "bet i could get there first," he mocked, and george raised his eyebrows and jutted his bottom lip out.

"as if," was his succinct reply before he took off sprinting, shoes sliding against the wet dirt and grass. dream laughed and ran after him, jumping over roots and sharp rocks. it was close, at first, but he was too fast, and george was limping; dream won easily, his face hitting the open air before george could. "no fair. i have a broken leg. i totally would have beat you if i didn't... whoa."

_whoa_ was an understatement. there was a clearing in front of them, where the grass seemed to have been weeded out, as the ground was barren and grey. in the middle of the area was a building that looked a bit like a factory, pipes and tubes running along the sides of the walls and up.

a few seemed to still be working, or at least there were remains of some type of machinery still operating, as smoke was drifting out some of the pipes facing upward, into the air. there were warehouses and several other buildings built around the main factory, and the entrance to it was wide open.

"we should explore it!" george said, pressing his hands to his cheeks - and though dream doubted it was a good idea, george seemed excited, for the first time since dream had met him. "looks cool."

dream begged to differ, but he wanted to humour george, so instead he grinned. "sure. maybe we can find something about paradise in there." he nodded to the familiar orange brand mark carved into one of the walls and spray painted, though it was worn with time and the vines crawling up the metal.

the dirt beneath was, as opposed to the fairly damp and soft ground outside of the clearing, hard-packed, and dream couldn't put a dent in it even when he dug the tips of his sneakers into it - the earth refused to budge. this struck him as a little strange, but he theorised that maybe there was some kind of metal underneath, or they had put something in the ground to make it so hard.

they approached the entrance of the factory. the double metal doors had been slid back, allowing it to open, and even when dream pulled he couldn't get the doors to close. it was probably operated by some type of machine, one that was long broken.

beyond the doors was darkness, dusty and foul-smelling. despite dream's cautiousness, george seemed all the more excited at the prospect of exploring the place. "probably has lights in there somewhere," he reasoned, peering around for some kind of light switch from the doorway.

"man, you're brave, i'll give you that," dream muttered, though he wasn't so sure george heard. he patted george on the back to comfort the other ( _not_ himself, dream adamantly believed), before gripping the straps of his backpack and looking into the building once again.

with a deep breath, he stepped into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> question; do y'all think my chapters are too short? they average around 1.3k and while i know that's fairly short i do update nearly every day, so... i don't know. what do you all think? :)


	12. twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the facility isn't as abandoned as they thought it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what if i complete this fic before the vlog releases... not entirely unlikely.  
> (and yes, i am of the belief that the vlog exists; shut up, let me hope.)

"shit!"

dream apparently hadn't been expecting the sudden plunge, because he plummeted toward the ground with a jolt and a yelp. george managed to grab the back of his hoodie, lessening the impact, but dream was already keeling over in the ground, whining like an animal.

there was a light switch against the wall and george flicked it on, looking down. the floor seemed to be lower than the ground george was standing on, and there were a few bricks or rocks where dream was sitting - maybe the remains of a set of steps. 

"get up, drama queen," george said, jumping down himself. pain raced through his broken leg and he winced, but he adamantly kept going to impress dream, "this is... a pretty big place. pretty old, too, by the looks of it. huh." 

and it was. the paradise brand mark carved into the wall, the exact same carved into the outside, was spray painted orange, except the paint had seemed to worn out and was either peeling away or dripping down the walls. a spider skittered across one of the desks and the tiles, which were probably once white, were stained yellow and brown.

there were long tables, wooden brown, set against the walls in rows. five on the left side, and five on the right side, organised in a way so that around three people could stand at each table. there was clutter, a huge pile of items, both against the walls and toward the back of the area.

the lighting of it all was too bright and artificial - it hurt george's eyes, and for a moment he wished he also had a mask with mesh at the eyeholes to block out the light. dream tucked his hands into his pockets and jerked his head toward the back.

"i'll check over there," he said, already walking toward the back, "you check around the tables. tell me if you find anything." 

george couldn't find a reason to argue, pushing his goggles back up into his hair and walking over to the table closest to the door. he ran his over the surface, but quickly pulled away and stuck his tongue out at the grime and dust now covering his palm.

he ducked under, pulling a disgusted face at the dirt on the floor. an unidentifiable bug crawled across the floor in front of him, and george bit the inside of his cheek to prevent the nauseated feeling from rising in his throat. there was nothing underneath any of the tables. when he made to stand up, george winced at something sharp under his palm, and he stood up, examining whatever had pierced his hand. 

it was a small piece of gold - unlike the other metals, it stayed shiny and reflective. george pulled it out of his skin and held it up to the light. the side of it was sharp enough to make him bleed, and it was in some kind of irregular triangle shape, too big to be from a coin.

maybe it was from some kind of pendant, he theorised, or maybe a crown or a headpiece. it was likely, considering there seemed to be people working here, and jewelry wasn't too uncommon. no matter how much he turned the gold around in his hands, he couldn't find any stain; it was perfect.

except when he held it up to the light again, an abnormal glint caught his eye. at first, george thought it was some sort of dent or a crack, but upon closer inspection, it was a letter: _B,_ carved into the metal in an elegant handwriting. 

george opened his mouth to call for dream, but the latter beat him to it. "george, can you come over here? i think i found something." he pocketed his piece of gold and walked over to dream, arms crossed as he leaned over the other's shoulder; gasping softly when he realised what was in dream's hands.

"do you recognise it?" dream asked, alarmed, pinching his own piece of gold between two fingers. 

"no, but i -" he dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out the gold he had found nearby the tables, holding it up to dream's piece, "maybe they - fit together, somehow? i found mine on the floor, near those tables. where'd you find yours?"

dream hummed. "on the floor, too. near those boxes. the rest of it's just junk and metal and stuff." he tapped the two pieces against each other, frowning when they didn't fit. "maybe it's the other way around. try turning - yeah."

this time they slotted together perfectly, george's good arm twisted under dreams to hold it in the right position, and he tried not to blush at how awkwardly close they were. dream's piece had nothing carved onto it. 

"the letters were probably just spaced out more," dream suggested, "or maybe it was just that person's initials? would be more likely if it was a small charm. doesn't seem like it though." he tilted his head, the blank mask staring eerily at the gold despite the distress in dream's voice. "something like a headband. or a crown."

"that's what i thought," george said. he gave his own piece to dream and let him pocket both of them, but when he made to take a step back dream shot out and grabbed his arm, halting him. "what? what's wrong?"

dream's eyes were wide, calculating and shocked at the same time. "stay still," he murmured, warning in his voice, as he knelt down, as carefully as he could, it seemed. "george. i'm going to need you to - very slowly, and _very_ carefully - step aside. just one step. be careful not to slip."

despite his confusion, george nodded as he stood, back ramrod straight. he stepped to the right, shoulder blades as tense as they could be, hands curled at his sides. dream took a deep breath and nodded once george was safely out of the way.

"what was that about?" george asked, tentatively, but dream was too busy staring at the ground right behind the place where george had been standing. he knelt down himself to look at the floor, and finally realised what dream had been so worked up about.

footprints. the floor where they were standing was completely covered in dust, making it look slightly grey, but there were a clear set of footprints marked into the dust, clearing off the grime. it didn't seem to match george's shoes, and when dream inspected his own footprints, it didn't match his either.

a shiver ran down george's back. "there's a lot of dust here," dream noted, though there was a tinge of fear in his voice, "real dirty place. for the footprints to still be all clear and clean like this..." he rubbed at the floor, and when he looked at his finger it was dust-free. "these prints must be pretty recent."

when a box dropped from where it was balanced on a stack, george jumped and crashed against another pile of boxes, exposing the wall behind it. it was coated in dirt just like the floor, but what made goosebumps raised on his skin was the long print in the wall, clearing the dust just like the footprints.

like someone had pressed their hand against the cement and dragged their fingers down. his breathing sped up at the eerie sight, and he jumped yet again when dream wrapped his own hand around george's bandaged arm, like he was scared himself. and the idea of dream, so fearless and impassive as far as george had known him, being scared...

"someone's been here," dream said, voice shaky and soft, eyes fixed on the print against the wall - long like fingers dragging down. "someone's been here, george, and it wasn't a long time ago. this place isn't as abandoned as we thought it was."

they both looked to the doors, which were still blissfully opened. just then, the lights of the factory flickered and shut off, leaving the only light source to be from the entrance. they were in near darkness; and when dream turned to george, he could barely see him, but he could feel the horror in his voice.

"we have to go, george. now."


	13. thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new mystery surfaces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jvhbkf i got hit by a sudden wave of insecurity writing this. feel sorry for me :'(  
> anywho, updates might be slower from here on out? i might post like,, every other day.

the doors were beginning to close in front of them, and dream wrapped his hand around george's waist, supporting him, pulling him toward the entrance. "come on," he said, both to himself and george, as they ran. "come on, come on -"

at the last second, with only a sliver of light in between the two doors, dream let go of george and jumped forward, squeezing in between the metal. he yelled at the pain closing in on his hands as george limped toward him. dream tried to keep it open as long as he could, but it was too much, and he was thrown back down the stairs, groaning as his head hit the floor.

"are you okay?" george asked, kneeling down to prop dream up, "this is all my fault. i'm - i'm sorry, i should have run faster. it just hurts so bad," he said, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, and dream realised how much effort george was putting into not being a dead weight. his leg must have been in agony, running and walking around.

"it's cool, george. your leg is broken, there wasn't anything you could have done about it." despite the ringing in his ears and the pounding in his head, dream sat up, making an effort to smile weakly at his partner. "it's fine, but - ugh. we're trapped here. and who's -"

a loud click echoed through the room, followed by complete silence. now that dream had gotten his bearings, the darkness of the room was overwhelming. there was light, a small, barely-there crack in between the two metal doors, landing a strip of yellow-white across george's face.

other than that, dream couldn't see anything, much less himself. he gripped onto george's shoulders, digging his nails into the fabric of george's jacket. "let's see if there's a way out of here. whoever this was... well, maybe they oversaw something." he didn't want to particularly think about the person who had done this, or whether they were still there, watching them...

george's voice was high-pitched with fear when he agreed, getting up shakily on his legs to search. even with dream's support, he was still clearly in pain, nose scrunched up. "hurts," he whispered, attempting to stand up straight, "shit. really hurts."

dream rushed to help him up, wrapping his arm around george's torso, using the other one to grab onto the other's elbow. "thank you," george murmured, still gripping tight to green's hoodie, mouth too close to dream's - maybe it was the darkness or the fear, but dream felt shivers down his back.

"yeah. here on out, we'll stick together. let's check - maybe there's some kind of lock or keypad." george nodded, and they approached the steps. it was hard to see with the light only going in a single direction, and when dream loosened his arms from around george to run his hands along the crack, he found it impossible to pry the doors open any wider. 

after cussing under his breath he led them both back to the desks. he ran his hands over the tables, trying to feel for something in the total pitch black. "can't find anything," he told george, and the slight shrug he felt under his other arm from george told him that george hadn't found anything either. "wait - there."

a glint of metal had caught dream's eye near the entrance. george sent him a quizzical, wide-eyed look, but allowed dream to drag him toward the doors. dream didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before, but there was a smooth metal sheet engraved into the wall with numbered buttons and a small screen. a keypad, probably to unlock the doors.

with hope filling in his heart, dream pressed the the little button that he assumed was to turn it on - it worked, and the screen beeped once, blinking to life. he pointed at the carving in the wall next to the metal, frowning. 

before he could try to squint to decipher it, there was a quiet snap beside him - george had strapped his goggles over his eyes and was running his fingers over the carving. "it says one-four-one-seven," he reported. dream supposed the goggles helped him see better - he looked a little silly in them, but also cute, in a strange way.

his fingers shook as he pressed in the numbers that george gave him. there was a loud whirring from the doors and they started to slide open once again, but stopped. it was around two inches open now, wider but not enough for either of them to squeeze through.

there was another click, like the first one, except louder, and more ominous. he felt george's fingers curl into his hoodie and the sense of it gave dream a little comfort, though dread was still coursing through his nerves, his blood ice-cold in his veins. this time, it wasn't quiet that followed the click.

instead, there was a voice.

"so." the one word made goosebumps rise on dream's skin. it was somehow quiet and loud all at once, echoing throughout the area but calm and collected all the same. there was a record scratch, like the message was pre-recorded; dream suspected it was. his suspicions were confirmed by the voice's next words. "you've discovered this recording." 

"well, if you have, then first of all i would like to congratulate you on finding this facility. especially when it's been hidden away from the public eye. so kudos to you." polite clapping, almost mocking, from the other side. "however, if you are this far from the city, i urge you to go back." 

dream heard george mutter _no way in hell,_ and it made him laugh, if only for a second. "if you are running," the voice continued, so familiar yet so alienated to dream, "from something. or from someone. then i assure you."

despite the fact that it was a recording, the voice seemed to get closer, whispering in dream's ears, threatening and dangerous. calm, sweet, yet malicious. "you cannot. you can run, you can try to escape, but you simply cannot. and _george..._ "

the mention of his name had george freezing up in dream's arms as the latter's mind whirred to make sense of everything. despite the message being recorded, the speaker knew who george was - maybe they'd come back to the facility specifically to record, but why...

"you have made a grave mistake."

at this, the recording cut out, and the doors slid open once again. dream stepped through it warily - and when the ground didn't give out beneath him and spikes didn't emerge from the earth, george followed. they both stood at the doorway, but nothing happened - no more messages, no more voices, no more eerie happenings. 

"that was really weird," dream said, as if it wasn't obvious already. he looked to george, who was admittedly more put together than dream had been expecting him to be, but still staring at the entrance into the darkness of the factory with empty eyes. "um... george? you okay?"

he'd taken the goggles off somewhere along the line, and dream felt more comfort and relief in seeing george's wide brown eyes than he should have. his eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked more confused than scared, like he was still processing.

"they knew," george said, eyes flickering up to dream for only a moment, "they knew. whoever they were that recorded that - it was recent, right? they were here." his voice was getting more panicked, making the accent in the way he pronounced his words more obvious. dream had the urge to laugh at it, but he knew that would be insensitive. 

"hey, george, it's alright. don't panic." a little hypocritical, since dream was panicking himself, bouncing his leg up and down as his eyes darted around the clearing, searching for any sign or evidence of the person who'd been to the facility before them. but it looked just the same as when they'd entered it.

george wrapped his arms around his own torso, taking a deep breath. he was looking around too, just as wary and paranoid as dream was. "thanks," was his soft reply, before he cleared his throat and stood up straighter, grinning weakly. "maybe we should - get out of here now."

"yeah," dream agreed, looking up at the company brand name engraved into the metal: _paradise._ he wanted to take out his pocket knife and scratch it off, but he didn't, though his fingers twitched at his side. "i've had enough of this place. let's go."

despite being the one to suggest it, george looked reluctant to leave, even when dream turned on his heel to go. he tugged on george's jacket, and george nodded, stepping back, though his eyes were still fixed on the factory. dream groaned. "do you want to go or not?"

"i - i do," george reassured, though he didn't do anything about it, "i'm sorry, i just - this place feels so familiar."

he remembered the way the voice had sent shivers down his back, and made his blood run cold, how it felt like some distant memory. like a faded page in the back of the diary of his mind, one he couldn't quite reach or read. an itch he couldn't scratch.

it was frustrating, but he couldn't do anything about it - didn't want to, either. dream clenched his hands into fists and tugged on george's jacket again, more forcefully to pull him along. "we should go, george," he said firmly, "this place is - it's nothing but trouble."

george looked up at him and nodded. with one last glance back, they continued along the clearing and into the woods once again.


	14. fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream and george have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, with the whole situation on twitter, i'd like to clarify that i do not condone any of a6d's actions. i'm not autistic, but as a neurodivergent person myself, it honestly really hurt - however, i do believe that they're all talking about it behind the scenes. please, don't send hate, to any of them; that's just immature, sets a bad standard, and does absolutely nothing.
> 
> now that that's out of the way... enjoy the chapter! <3

"so," dream started, tangling his fingers together, "that was - freaky."

george didn't respond. they were sat up on the a ledge, against the smoothest surface they could find among the rocks. there was a low overhang of stone over them, and dream trusted it enough not to come crumbling down. he coughed again. george's eyes flickered up to him.

dream coughed again, and george sighed like he was tired, which he probably was, as he was massaging the bridge of his nose. "what, dream?" his voice was snappish but quiet all the same. he was clearly distressed, staring into the distance, and dream could see the beginnings of grey circles under his eyes.

"i just..." for a moment dream was at a loss for words. he was usually so eloquent, but he didn't know if whatever he said would make george feel worse or better. "are you okay, george? i don't -"

"no," george cut off, "i'm not." they relapsed into silence again, and dream scratched at the back of his neck. it was raining again, the acidic drops of water sliding down the leaves of bushes and the bark of the trees, though they were shielded by the stone. "back there, in the... you know. thanks."

the sudden change of attitude made dream squint through his mask. though it provided means to hide his identity, it also made it a little hard to see details sometimes. he was lucky he had george for that, at least. "thanks for..." he trailed off, unsure, frowning when george grinned slightly like dream was joking.

"for helping me with my leg," he explained, propping the cast up into dream's lap, slapping the plaster before wincing, "ow. should not do that. anyway, yeah, thanks for helping me with my leg and stuff. and you did get us out of there, too."

"i mean, i was stuck there, too. i wasn't going to lie down and quit," he said, awkwardly, not exactly sure what to respond, though he appreciated george's attempt at conversation, no matter how stilted it was, "and i couldn't have been able to get out of there if you didn't read the code for me. do the goggles..." he tapped at his mask, right near the eyeholes, "... do they help you see?"

in response, george smiled, weak, but genuine all the same. "sort of," he replied, reaching up to drum his fingers against the lenses of the goggles. dream couldn't figure out exactly what type they were, but they looked a little like aviator goggles, but smaller and rounder. "i'm colourblind."

dream tilted his head, raising his eyebrow. "and no, i don't see in black and white," george continued, and dream blushed, feeling stupid for thinking it, "honest mistake. everyone assumes. i see colours, just not the same way you do. without these -" he tapped the goggles again, "- i wouldn't even know what purple is."

this made dream blink, reaching for his backpack. george watched as he dug around it for a moment, coming up with a photo album. he rifled through the pages until he found the photo he was searching for, a picture he remembered taking when he was a child - a single stem of lavender.

"what's it look like to you?" dream asked hesitantly as george ran his fingers over the glossy laminated photo.

"blue," he responded, simply.

he laughed when dream's jaw dropped open in surprise. "what? no. that's crazy." dream looked back at the photo, at the pretty lilac of each petal in the flower, sticking out among a patch of grass. one of the only things of beauty he'd seen when he was a child. "no way. blue?"

george didn't answer but instead gave a laugh as a reply, and it told dream everything he needed to know. he flipped over to the next page, and this time, it was george's turn to gape at the picture. it wasn't laminated like the flower picture was, but it was high quality all the same.

"that's you?" he asked, looking back and forth between the young dream in the photo and the dream next to him, "pfft. no way. you're a liar. why's your hair red?" dream looked back at the picture and laughed.

"that's when i decided to go ginger for a week," he said, snickering again at the memory of soaking his hair in dye, "well, i planned to do it for a week. young me didn't know how long temporary dye lasted. turned out more of a month."

the other laughed too, and dream felt himself smiling softly at the sight, the way george's eyes crinkled up at the corners. "it's not even ginger," he said, clapping his hand over his mouth like it would stop his giggling, "that's just plain red, dream." he sighed, wiping at the corner of his eye.

"hey, what do you know? you can't even see purple." dream poked at george's cheek, before instantly feeling bad for the comment. george didn't seem to mind though, turning to dream to punch him in the shoulder playfully.

"i _can_ see purple, idiot. just not without the goggles. i don't use them much, though." he grew more serious, unstrapping them from around his head and holding them in his hands. "colour blindness... it gets a little inconvenient sometimes, but i don't really feel like it's something i need to fix. it's just a part of me."

dream fiddled with his fingers, looking out at their surroundings, trying to imagine the way it would be without colour. it seemed dull. lifeless. "doesn't it seem kind of messed up?" george narrowed his eyes and he coughed at his awkward wording. "i mean - like - doesn't everything seem more lively with colour?"

"i don't see in black and white, remember?" george curled his knees up to his chest. "everything's just a different shade. i see blue the same. this green -" he reached to brush the tips of his fingers against dream's green hoodie, "- it's more piss yellow." he let out a breath of a laugh at this. "and lots of everything is just grey. i'm used to it, basically. there's nothing wrong with me."

"'course there isn't," dream said, feeling guilt wind around his heart, squeezing, for ever implying otherwise, "you know what's wrong? you see me as the colour of piss." he tugged at the fabric of his jacket. "that's ridiculous. _piss yellow."_

george made an annoyed sound, rolling his eyes, though he clearly wasn't too irritated. "your hoodie, not you, stupid." he flicked his finger across dream's chin, and dream yelped and rubbed at it. "pissbaby."

adjusting his mask around his face, dream groaned and pushed george back. he opened his mouth to speak, but george interrupted him with a question of his own, brushing his hand through his tangled black hair.

"why the mask?" his voice was more serious now, and the question made dream take a sharp breath in. he brushed his own dirty blonde hair back between his ear and sighed, trying to calm the churning in his stomach. "it just seems pointless. there's no one around." dream swallowed, trying his best to think about how he'd explain to george how he felt without the mask - exposed. vulnerable. "you don't trust me."

"i do," dream shot back almost immediately. and he did. he did trust george, the first person he trusted in a long while, with his cute, neat black hair and the weird way he saw the world without his little goggles. "george, honestly. i do."

george looked down at his hands in his lap, mouth drawn into a frown. "then why?" his eyebrows were furrowed like he was angry, but his voice sounded more hurt. "i don't really understand."

_of course you don't,_ dream thought, _nobody does. never has._ it sounded edgy and self-centred, but it was true. it wasn't like he'd ever really had anyone to talk to about it, and when anyone asked - his boss, his acquaintances - they never really did understand, how weak he felt without it.

with the mask, he could be whatever he wanted to be. nothing he did would be associated with his face, his wide green eyes, his nose, his lips. it was like another him, or a version of him he could hide behind. maybe it was a little cowardly. but it comforted him.

and yet he never did find a way to explain it to anyone.

"i just feel really -" he crossed his arms, "- i don't know. i guess i'm just not ready yet. i don't - i feel really weird without the mask, george. it's like i feel weak, and exposed, and just... naked, i guess. does that sound weird?"

"yeah," george deadpanned, and dream's heart dropped, "i get it. you don't trust me yet. that's cool." dream reached out to protest, but george just pushed his hand away. it made guilt and panic well up in his chest, burning through him like a forest fire. "just don't lie. it's not... it's weird, dream."

he was curling into himself, and though he was still smiling, it seemed far more forced than before. dream sighed, wondering why he had to ruin everything with his stupid, uncontrollable obsession with a mask. one with a smiley face drawn stupidly on it with a marker.

"i didn't lie, george," dream said, a last ditch attempt. it didn't seem to work, if the weird, shaky laugh george gave was any indication. he wasn't surprised at that. it was his fault, anyway. "i promise. please believe me."

george's smile tilted as he scratched at his cheek. despite the heavy cast on his leg, george managed to stand up. "i said it's fine," he said, voice empty and hollow, as he slid down the ledge with difficulty. "i'll come back later. i need to... think about stuff." 

then he limped away, into the woods. away from dream.


	15. fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new plan forms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'CAUSE BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORK  
> whoo long chapter! yippee! hope you enjoy! :)

the night sky was a dark-blue grey as usual, and george felt bad. more than was necessary, really. "dream," he whispered into the dark, propping himself up to look at the other boy in the dark, hunched over himself, "dream? i feel bad. you can take the mat."

all that came from dream was a long, drawn-out groan. george suspected it was a little exaggerated on dream's part. "george," he started, speaking slowly like he was talking to a child, "it's fine. you take the sleeping bag. i'll take the ground, it's comfy here."

"it's comfy on the ground," george deadpanned.

"yes," dream retaliated, just as emotionless, and george huffed, falling back onto the small sleeping bag. it was a bright, annoying yellow to george (was everything dream owned green?) and it annoyed him even as the plastic and fabric padded his back against the rocky surface.

he tossed around in it for a while, kicking and crossing his legs to try to get comfortable. dream made a frustrated grunt but didn't say anything, and george couldn't decide whether that was annoying or satisfying. he flailed his legs again, and when his heel hit a sharp stone that jutted up through the plastic, george yelped.

dream snickered but once again didn't say anything. quiet fell over them once again, and george tried to keep his mouth shut amidst dream shuffling around on the rocks. but he failed, which was - well, what did dream expect, exactly?

"i'm not taking the sleeping bag, george," dream said, firmly, when george cleared his throat, "i'm fine on the floor. it's nice here." george huffed again at that. "georgie, stop moving around, holy shit. it's -"

"maybe i would if you just took the mat," george shot back, and dream flopped back onto the ground, groaning in exasperation, "dream, it's your sleeping bag, stop being so stubborn -"

abruptly dream shot up and threw his hands in the air. "you're the one with the broken leg! and it's called being nice, you should try that for once, i'm not sure if you know what it is or -" he went silent, blinking, "or... we could..." he trailed off, and though it was hard to tell in the dark george thought maybe he was blushing. "we could share."

with an unimpressed look on his face george squinted down at the sleeping bag. it was small, but so was george, and there was still lots of excess space. but when he looked up, back at dream, staring at him with two marker dots for eyes and a wide, empty smile.

he didn't trust george. that was okay. it wasn't like he'd expected dream to, what with the lies and how they'd barely known each other for a day. but he'd seemed so guiltless in lying, looked right in his face and came up with some bullshit excuse...

it hurt. george couldn't really lie about that. he knew dream had his own reasons - he couldn't say he was surprised that dream didn't trust him. but it reminded him too much of another time, where he was sat a desk in front of a screen and not even trusted with a pair of scissors. where everyone around him was somehow an _enemy,_ who wanted nothing good for him, who were probably cursing him out right as he was lying down next to dream staring at the sky, for being able to escape when they couldn't.

after all, he'd probably made it worse for them. george wouldn't be surprised if they'd tightened the security. everything was probably so much more miserable at paradise now, because he was too selfish to think outside of himself.

nobody trusted him, not at this point, and neither did dream.

it hurt.

"actually, i think... i'll sleep alone. on the sleeping bag. if that's okay?" he tilted his head slightly. dream shrugged and nodded, though his shoulders did droop a bit. george almost felt bad, but dream had already flopped back onto his side, facing away. "i - good night."

"night, george," was his response, and then more silence, except this time george didn't have any energy in him to do anything but lie down and stare at the plain sky, starless and dull and empty. he felt hollow, like there was something missing in him. 

he couldn't do anything about it, and soon he drifted into sleep.

and he awoke to a light grey sky, bluer than most days but smokey and polluted all the same. the ground next to him was empty. dream had left a slight depression into the dirt, but other than that, there was no sign of him. no backpack or mask or hoodie.

panic rushed through george for a second as he jumped to his feet despite the pain in his leg and looked around the woods, through the growth of trees and dull yellow grass. his heart skipped a beat when he heard a familiar voice behind him say, "had a nice sleep, princess?"

"was fine," george replied curtly, choosing to ignore the obvious mocking and crossing his arms, "so what are we going to do now?" dream's grin disappeared and he turned serious, reaching into his jacket, which he'd unzipped. he was wearing a black shirt underneath.

hidden beneath his jacket had been a sheet of paper, rolled up into a tube. dream held it out to george and he took it, fingertips brushing together, unrolling it and smoothing it out. sentences upon sentences were scrawled in ink along the paper, along with small diagrams and maps.

george squinted at the paper, trying to make out what each word said. _even - no, every... every entrance has a - what is that word? what the hell?_ he looked up at dream, mouth a flat line. "i can't read any of this," he said neutrally and dream bit his lip.

"ah. right. sorry 'bout that. i know my writing's a bit messy." he took the paper back, and george leaned back against the tree behind him as dream muttered to himself about the paper. "okay, here, i'll read. first, we'll go back to sap's cafe. it's a safe place within the city that -"

"wait," george interrupted, and though dream sighed in exasperation he let george speak, "didn't - wasn't it announced that whoever in the city was caught associating with us would, you know, die?" he raised his eyebrow. "and that's, like, the best case scenario here."

looking back at his plans, dream sighed again, running a hand over his face. "i know," he muttered, "i - i know. and trust me, i don't want sap to get in trouble either. but if we want to take down paradise, we'll have to get into the city somehow. and his cafe's a safe haven."

george wanted to retaliate. he wanted to say, _what do you know, you're not the one who's known sapnap for forever. you don't care about him like i do. and why do we have to take down paradise anyway? i've seen what it's like. you haven't. why do you always act like you know everything?_

and then he remembered how dream had picked him up and carried him and ran across a street rained down by gunfire, risking death for him. and again at the factory, where he could've squeezed through those doors and left george behind, in the darkness, alone.

but he didn't. and for a moment george thought that maybe dream trusted him far more than either of them thought, or noticed, or wanted to admit. 

so he said, "okay."

his cooperation seemed to surprise dream, but he didn't comment on it. "yeah," he agreed, mouth curving into a pleasant smile, "so we'll go to sap's cafe, and hopefully he'll help us get disguises. or at least help me get a new mask so i won't be as recognisable." he tapped at his mask.

"so i did research this morning while you were sleeping like a log," dream continued, and george didn't want to ask whether he'd really just left someone lying in a forest alone with a broken leg. "and there's this other paradise headquarters. but it's not used for the ais... the workers." he glanced at george, who very generously did not get angry. "it's for storing, and for company control."

"when we're ready, we'll sneak in," dream said, "we'll collect enough information to incriminate that stupid company, we'll get out, present it to whoever's running this town -" he waved his hand toward the general direction of the city, "- and i'm sure they'll be put to trial, or something."

george plucked the paper back out of dream's hands, and now that he knew the context, everything seemed much more legible. "that does sound like a good plan," he admitted. not in execution, maybe, but in concept george thought it was fairly solid. "let's go to sap's now, then."

at this, the smile on dream's face disappeared. "yeah. i'm just afraid i'll get recognised. i know it's ironic, since the mask is to make me unidentifiable, but like... i feel like it's pretty identifiable at this point." he ran his fingers over the ink drawn on the white. "george... i do trust you. i know it's only been a day, but... i do."

"i believe you," george said. and he wasn't exactly sure if he did, wholeheartedly, but he suspected what dream said did have some truth to it. his three words made dream smile weakly again, and it was nice to know he'd helped him feel better. "i'm sure the mask's fine, dream. we can get a new one at sap's. and you can take off the jacket."

dream nodded, shrugging off the green hoodie. his arms were pale, just like the rest of him, but there was a large scar across his right arm. it was healed and light brown on his skin, smooth around the edges. george forced himself to peel his eyes away and look back up at dream's mask.

"let's go," dream said simply, "i'll help you get up the ledge." he looked back and smiled as george rolled up the sleeping bag and shoved it into his own backpack, which was pathetically empty. a water bottle, a lunch box, a wallet, and a photo in one of the side pockets.

they marched along through the woods, dream running his hands across the rough tree bark as they did. it didn't take long to finally reach the ledge, the border of the city, and dream let george scramble up onto his shoulders to get to the surface. he climbed up after him, and they both looked up to the city.

it was the same as always, and surprisingly, there didn't seem to be more guards around the edge or near the buildings. "they must be more in the inner city," dream suggested, "makes no sense, though. if they were really looking for us, i think they would have stationed more outside the outer ring of the city."

george squinted through the gaps in the buildings and shrugged, following as dream trailed across the small area to the buildings. he slipped through the cracks between two stores, and again, there were no guards waiting for them. "that's super weird," dream pointed out.

"maybe they're just putting all their strength into the centre," george suggested, and though he felt stupid saying it dream seemed to actually consider the idea, pressing his lips together as he thought. "let's just go."

dream nodded and they both ran across the stone path, weaving between the stores and buildings. and although they tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, there was no around - the streets they could see were mostly abandoned. dream kept muttering about how strange it was to himself, like a madman, and it made george laugh.

finally, _**sap's frappes**_ came into view, looking just as it always did. its door creaky and nearly off its hinges, the faded black marker across the one glass window, dust cobwebbing across the storefronts. but most worrying of all was a poster plastered across the door.

_wanted._ with a picture of both dream and george on it, running down the street and away from the paradise guards. the blurry view almost made george giggle if it weren't for the more worrying text below it. _dead or alive. award offered._ signed by sapnap himself, his familiar handwriting, one that george had seen so many times before.

with a deep breath dream held out his hand. george looked down at it and smiled, weakly, bitterly, before taking it, squeezing slightly.

dream pushed open the door, and they stepped in.


	16. sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> new surprises await the two at the cafe.

it was empty.

"sapnap?" george called out. no response. dream felt his hand squeezed by george's, and he squeezed back to comfort him as they looked around. the cafe looked as it always did, dimly lit and cozy, yet the fairy lights strung across the wall were shattered and there was an odd-looking stain on the wall.

dream shrugged when george sent him a questioning, worried look. he called out sapnap's name himself, but again there was no answer - not even a sign that anyone was there. he let go of george's hand and walked to the counter, running his hand along its surface.

a bell chimed behind them. "guys?" sapnap's voice rang out of the blue as he hurriedly kicked the door closed and locked it behind him, various items in his arms. he took a step forward, and george and dream backed up against the counter, though sap didn't seem too hostile. "what are you doing?"

"we're sorry for dropping in without telling you," george said awkwardly, "and we heard the announcement. so we'll try to leave as quick as possible, since i know this must be kind of a hassle and everything -"

"are you kidding? i'm so glad you're here," sapnap said, laughter in his voice. he dumped the stuff in his arms onto the counter and dug through it for something. "this guy came in and ordered a latte, but he didn't have any money, so he gave me this instead. i was worried i wouldn't be able to find you or, uh, see you ever again... before i could give it to you. here."

he handed george a small vial and a circular container. dream flpped into one of the counter seats and watched as george screwed open the container, peering into it and the white paste within it. "um," he started, as dream snickered, "what is this?"

"it's supposed to heal bone fractures and stuff, and the vial is too," sapnap said, propping himself up against the counter, "i'm honestly not so sure how it works, if it works at all, but i thought it'd be worth a try! just drink it. that's what the guy said, anyway. and rub the paste onto your leg."

"oh, okay," george said. he crooked his leg back and squinted. "um. i think i'm going to need help."

dream stood up and stretched, patting sapnap on the shoulder. "hey, sap, can you do me a favour? i need a new mask." he tapped at his own one for emphasis. "can you, uh, get me one? a paper plate is fine, but i'd appreciate something like this one."

sapnap blinked before nodding. "sure, dude. i guess you can stay here and help george with his leg." george was still hopping around on his good leg, trying to somehow get the cast off singlehandedly. they both laughed at him. "alright then. see ya. if anyone comes in, hide in the storage room."

next second he was out the door, and dream crossed the floor to lock it again. "why would anyone come in?" he wondered aloud, "there's literally a _closed_ sign on the door. are people really illiterate around here?"

"i don't think he was talking about customers," george answered, somber, and dream sighed to himself. _of course. why didn't i think of that?_ "now can you come and help? this thing is -" dream turned around to see george trying and failing to unwrap the bandages. 

the sight reminded dream of a helpless kitten, meowing as it spun in circles chasing its tail. he laughed and approached george, propping his leg up onto one of the seats as george tumbled into one of the other chairs. carefully he unwrapped the bandages, taking off the plaster of the cast.

while his leg wasn't as twisted or horrific as it had once been, it definitely hadn't healed. the skin was red and blue and bruised, but thankfully there was no blood. "still hurts?" dream asked, taking the container from george's hands and dipping his fingers into the paste. george nodded. "yikes. i'm sorry. how exactly did it break, anyway?"

"while i was escaping," george started slowly, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the dingy ceiling, "i had to climb up onto the top of the headquarter building. terrible place, by the way. it was like an office and a factory mixed into one." his head lolled onto his shoulder. "i was on the roof, and i had no way to get down except... to jump."

he sighed, and dream winced at the thought as he rubbed his fingers across george's leg, smoothing the paste into his skin. slathering enough to cover the marks and nasty colours blooming on his skin that made dream's stomach churn with disgust.

after the medicine had seeped into his skin, they both sat there, staring at each other. "feel any better?" dream asked. george tested, lifting his leg up and down and tilting his leg left and right slightly, making a groan of pain at the latter.

"not really," he admitted, "hold on. let me drink the thing." he pointed at the vial in dream's hands and dream placed it in his hands, fingers curling around it. with a disgusted face he downed the liquid, gulping and sticking tongue out. "tastes like oil."

they waited again, dream's eyes flickering back and forth from george's face to his leg. "any better now?" he questioned again, and this time george swung his leg off the seat to sit properly, gingerly placing it on the ground.

"a little," he said, kicking it back and forth, "not by much, but it does feel better. lighter." george stood up, and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "yeah. definitely feels better. this must be some high quality stuff. wonder why that guy gave it away for a latte."

dream laughed, hand over his mouth. "to be fair, sap's lattes are pretty damn good." 

to his delight, george laughed along, but they were both interrupted by the sudden sound of the bell chiming. sapnap was carrying an armful of more stuff, to which george stared at it, muttering something about how sapnap was rich.

"i got you this," he plucked out a blank mask, easy to draw on with a marker, and handed it to dream. "and this. you shouldn't be walking around in just a shirt if you plan on doing suspicious shit." he winked and threw a hoodie at dream.

it was dark green and simple with no design on it. when he unfolded it, two things fell out. two leather braces that seemed to be meant to be worn from his shoulder to his elbow, wrapping around like armour. dream looked up and grinned at sapnap. "thanks, man. i owe you."

"sure do," sapnap quipped back, but he was smiling. he was putting more stuff into george's arms when dream strolled to the storage room to draw on his new mask. metal shelves lined the room, but there was a convenient desk in the middle where he laid the mask down, hovering his marker over it.

he took off his old mask, looking at himself in the reflection. dream didn't really consider himself handsome - he wasn't ugly by any means, but he sure was average. typical nose, typical ears, typical face shape. there was a spray of freckles across the bridge of his nose that his mother used to coo about. his eyes were bright grass green.

so, average. he brought down the marker onto the mask and stuck his tongue out as he drew, trying to keep his hand as steady as it could be. the inky tip of it smoothed across the surface as he drew swirls along the sides, and finally, he added his classic two dots in the middle and a wide curvy line to resemble a smile.

with a dramatic, melancholic sigh, he picked up his old mask and flung it across the room. it hit the wall behind a few shelves with a dull sound and he put on the new mask, tying the two leather brown straps into a knot at the back of his head.

when he walked out of the storage room, george was wearing a blue shirt with a red rectangle across it that said in white text, _404._ he had arm braces, similar to dream's except it was for george's forearms, and black gloves, and was waving his fingers back and forth.

"looking good, buddy," sapnap said, a thumbs up at dream's new mask, "much cleaner. and stylish. what do you think, george?" he nudged george, who was staring at dream with something in his eyes that dream couldn't quite identify.

"you look stupid," he deadpanned, tugging on his gloves, and dream's heart dropped in his chest before george turned around to smile coolly. "kidding. looks cool." 

for some reason the approval and the compliments made dream feel better, and he grinned as he stepped closer toward the two of them. sapnap had put george's cast back on, but it didn't seem to be as thick and heavy as it had been before. when george caught dream looking, he tapped his foot against the ground.

"it does feel way better," he reassured, "i mean, i don't think i can run just yet, but it'll probably heal really quickly. thank you so much, sap. this helps a lot." to which sap just shrugged and smiled back. "you know, i never knew stuff like this existed when i was a kid. i thought you'd have to stitch the bones back together."

dream both laughed and cringed at the thought. "seriously? you're a dumbass, georgie." to which george huffed, although he couldn't tell whether it was the insult or the nickname. "aww, cheer up. you were a kid. we all make dumb mistakes." he looked up. "speaking of. we should get out here. i don't want to get you in trouble, sap."

sapnap laughed. "i'm sure you won't," he said, "but if you want to go, be my guest. i need to open up anyway. money doesn't exactly grow on trees these days. thankfully, i've been getting support for a few people, but - uh..." he gestured to the new clothing dream and george had.

"sorry again," george apologised, and sap just shook his head and smiled, "alright, dream. let's go. same plan, right? to the headquarters?" he looked up at dream, who nodded back at him. his mouth pulled into a frown in determination. "then lead the way."

dream clenched his fist at his side and unlocked the door, pushing it open into the cold, abandoned streets. "let's do this."


	17. seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the headquarters offers more answers - almost too many...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from here on out things will get a little violent, and i'm sorry about that, but i will try to keep things as clean as possible.

"this is really weird," dream said, maybe for the twelfth time that day. george had to agree.

the so-called headquarters was nearly abandoned. there were two guards standing near the entrance, but they had batons instead of the typical guns that both of them had been expecting. furthermore, there was no one else around - no citizens and no soldiers.

dream peered over the bush they were hiding behind. "we're nearly to the dead centre of the city," he continued, "there should be, like, tons of guards here. that's what i would do if i were in charge." he tilted, craning his neck to get a good look at the building. "maybe they're stationed... behind?"

and yet when they skirted along the sides of the area to look at the back of the facility, still no guards. though dream still seemed worried about it, george smiled at this and tugged dream along.

"we're trying to break in," he reasoned, to which dream _shushed_ him, and a faint shade of red was visible on his cheeks under his mask. george obediently lowered his voice, "come on, dream, this is a good thing. sometimes things don't have to be all that deep."

despite the uncertainty in his voice, dream followed along as they trailed down the path to the entrance. the two guards were still there, staring straight ahead, unmoving like cardboard cutouts. dream pressed a finger to his lips, taking out a switchblade from his pocket.

in a swift movement, so fast george barely processed what he was doing, dream flicked the knife open and sank it into one of the guards' flesh, the skin right below where george guessed their ribs would be. the other guard yelped in surprised and drew his baton, making to club dream with it, but he managed to parry with his blade. he went for a stab, but it glanced off the guard's armour, and they brought their baton up to attack dream again.

desperate to help, george lunged forward. dream staggered back, surprised, as george tackled to the guard to the ground. he screeched when they landed a punch to his jaw, and he struck back, the slight crunching sound under his fist satisfying in a twisted way.

he rolled off the guard's limp body as dream stabbed them in the arm. "shouldn't be fatal," dream commented as their eyes fluttered shut, "just enough to be damaging. i feel sorry for them, especially after you tackled them to the ground like some kind of - yapping dog. holy shit, george. didn't know you had it in you."

george blushed, although he wasn't quite sure why, tugging at his hair. "whatever," he muttered, though he was clearly smiling, "let's just go in. come on." dream nodded, bending down to pick a keycard from one of the guards' belts, pressing it against the scanner.

they slid open with ease and a beeping sound. after a quick look down the hallway the entrance led into, dream stepped in with caution. nothing happened, and so he gestured for george to follow after. the two of them made their way down the corridor.

upon turning a corner, dream halted before turning on his heel and grabbing george by the wrist, pulling him to press against the wall. george was about to ask what the hell he was doing, but soon after he heard the heavy tromp of footsteps and fell silent.

"wonder what boss is doing holed up in the office all day," one of them said, voice deep and muffled. dream and george were uncomfortably close, legs tangling with the other's as they tried as hard as they could to meld in with the shadows of the corner.

"let him be, he's just a kid," the other responded, "it's a mystery how he got this job anyway. all he does is yell and insult people."

the first guard laughed loudly. "don't you tell me," they said. both of the guards stood for a moment, and george screamed at them in his mind - _you're not even talking! get a move on! -_ feeling his palms getting sweaty where they were against dream's hoodie. 

finally, they proceeded down the hall, and once they were out of sight dream let out a long sigh and relaxed. george stepped away, adjusting his goggles and smoothing down his shirt. he nodded at dream, who smiled and nodded back, and they crept down the corridor.

"there," dream whispered, pulling on the back of george's collar. he retreated a few steps to see what dream was looking at - a staircase leading down, with the plaque above it declaring, _storage room._ "well, it was easy finding it, at least. but..." his eyes trailed to the one guard standing by it.

"we can't take him down without making a scene," george murmured to himself, but dream had seemingly heard as he nodded in agreement. "a distraction," he suggested, and dream scrambled for his backpack, coming up with a lunchbox. "how is that going to -"

interrupted by dream stretching his arm back and throwing it as hard as he could at the wall opposite them. it hit the cement with a thud, making the crisp paint peel away. the guard jumped and put away their gun to investigate the noise. george raised his eyebrows.

"huh," he said as they both ran forward, as fast as they could while the guard remained occupied, "that was... huh." dream shot him an unimpressed look at his speechlessness as they hurried down the stairs. 

it was long, almost insanely so. dream ran his hands along the walls, but george just cast a disgusted look his way - who knew what had touched the weirdly damp cement before? he nearly gave up on the stairs due to how long they'd been walking, but thankfully, they burst out into the open.

"oh," dream said, and george snickered. he was underwhelmed, to say the least. while he'd been expecting a large room with shelves lined with folders and books and photos, all that was there were stacks of boxes lining the sides of the room. also, when george sniffed, it reminded him vaguely of a pig farm that smelled like feces and mud. "well... let's get searching."

dream took the right side of the room, which left george to the other side. he dropped down to his knees and stared at the numerous boxes, not exactly sure where to start. he reached into one of the nearest boxes, taking out several folders and binders.

he rifled through them, but none of them seemed to hold anything of substance - employee files, checks, records of where money went. he shoved the last file into his backpack, but even after searching through the other boxes, he found nothing.

"hey, look at this," dream called out from the other side, and george stood up, crossing over to him to peer over his shoulder. he was holding a box in his hands, smaller than the others, and it was sealed shut with tape. "the others are already open. it's weird that this one's closed."

george leaned over, placing his hands on his knees as dream flipped his switchblade open yet again, sawing it into the tape and cutting it open. he reached into the box and pulled out a single sheet of paper, damp, scattered with brown dots and stains, and slightly ripped at the the edges but otherwise unstained.

it was full of text, not handwritten but printed, in a neat, small font. dream squinted at it and started reading aloud. "dear technoblade," dream read, and although george had never heard the name before it sent shivers down his back. "i write this letter with high regards for you. however."

he ran his finger down the paper. "it has come to my attention that you have decided to isolate paradise as its own company, meaning its profits, its funds, its property, and all others to that effect will no longer be shared with -" dream rubbed at the next word, which was covered by a weird stain. "which is why, from this point forward, i and everyone associated with me previously will no longer be working for you all. i wish you the best of luck."

the final words were also covered by the stain, and dream sighed. "technoblade," he enunciated, carefully, "now that's a name. he must be the owner of this company. maybe we can bring this to sap or some of my other acquaintances, and they can help decipher it?"

george crossed his arms. "uh-huh," he agreed, "maybe if we find out what the company is or who wrote this letter we'll be able to do more research on it." they both fell silent at the sound of footsteps above. dream jerked to his feet. "maybe they're just walking across the above floor," george reasoned.

they stood stock still for several moments, listening to the sounds from above. and yet, they seemed to be getting closer, and closer, and closer, as the footsteps thundered down, near the entrance, echoing from the staircase.

"that's why there were no guards near the entrance," dream said, and though he seemed alert his body was frozen, like he had no idea what to do. george could relate. "they wanted us here. crowded into a closed-off area. _shit._ i've been so stupid."

realisation dawned on george, and he took a step back.

it'd been a trap.


	18. eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the facility doesn't seem so easy to escape now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> those sure are some incompetent guards huh
> 
> also, i know i said i'd keep violence to a minimum, and i really did try - i mean, this is probably the cleanest version possible. it could've been much more gorey. but, uh, yeah, sorry for that.

"george, this is what we're going to do," dream said, clasping one of george's hands in both of his own, voice urgent and low. "i'll stay behind and distract them, and while i do that, you run, okay? run out the door and far away, go to sap's cafe, make sure you're not -"

"no!" george interrupted, indignant, "i'm not leaving you here to die. not for me." he looked toward the entrance. "we'll just book it the second they get here. they'll be caught off-guard." dream opened his mouth to protest but george ground his feet into the floor stubbornly and drew himself up to look taller. "we're getting out of this together."

the steely tone of george's voice, determined, with complete faith that they would both make it out alive - made dream give in, squeezing george's hand again to reassure both george and himself, before pulling away and looking toward the staircase.

he stepped closer to george as the footsteps approached, louder and louder. the guards were too close to the room - they'd be there in any minute. dream felt like he should prepare, except he wasn't exactly sure why or how.

it was almost slow-motion, like something from a film or a movie, when the guards finally burst into the room. dream was disoriented for a moment, as if he hadn't been anticipating it for the last five minutes. george had to pull dream along, shaking him for a millisecond as he snapped back to reality.

he drew his switchblade and stabbed one of the guards in the neck as they rushed past them. they didn't seem to be ready for the two of them to just charge through, as they had to take a moment to turn around. once they did, shouting for the others to follow, dream and george were already halfway up the staircase.

"search the room!" one of them yelled, and dream sighed in relief - that meant less soldiers to deal with. since they were running, it only took them a few moments to reach the top, and as soon as they did they took of sprinting down the hall.

dream's heart dropped when he realised george was slowing down. "dream," he was saying, through tired breaths, "i - my leg. i can run, but not for long. i don't know how -" he cried out as he'd stepped on it wrong, doubling over for a second in pain.

"shit. hold on, george, we'll be out soon," he reassured the other, wrapping his arm around george's shoulders to support him as they ran. the guards had caught up with them, and there was a sharp pain in dream's side, but he didn't stop to think about it.

the entrance was blocked by two guards, who pointed at them as they approached. george cussed and veered right, pulling dream along behind a corner as they skidded down the corridor. they'd have to find another way out, although dream wasn't particularly optimistic.

a bullet clinked to the floor after glancing off his shoulder pad, and he stared at it in awe. _they're bulletproof,_ he realised as another group of guards rounded the corner. just before they seemed to catch sight of the two, george pulled dream into a nearby room, slamming the door behind them.

they tumbled into each other against the wall and took a deep breath. george flattened himself against the cement and sank to the floor, running his fingers along his broken leg. dream sighed, but out of the corner of his eye he spotted something glinting in the dark.

with some level of difficulty, he closed his hands over what felt like a handle or hilt of something, pulling out of where it was wedged between a shelf and the wall. he staggered back at the weight of it when he it finally went free - he thought he'd broken it, but lying on the floor was a perfectly undamaged sword.

"a sword?" george asked, squinting at it as if he couldn't quite believe it. dream reached down and hefted it up - heavy, but quite easy to carry. it was metallic blue, and dream could tell it was spray-paint, as it was silver in some places. it was surprisingly shiny and rust-free, though. "what the hell is it doing here?"

upon inspection, dream realised that it was steel, and when he rapped his knuckles against it, it seemed strong and tough. he ran his finger lightly against its edge, wincing at the drop of blood from his finger. it was sharp as a razor, which was good, at least.

a memory flashed through him - old, one that he barely recognised or remembered at all. of rolling fields and green grass and hay sacks as target dummies. he remembered the familiar feeling of his fingers wrapping around a hilt of a sword, surprisingly natural, as he hacked away at wood or fabric...

"no idea," dream admitted, "but it should come in handy. come on. we should get out of here."

when he pried open the door, the hall was empty. it creaked softly when he opened it further, but there didn't seem to be anybody around to hear. he nodded to george, and they crept out of the small, cramped room. after realising that there really was no one around, they started running toward the entrance.

the two guards stayed stationary near the doors and dream lunged forward before george could say anything. he drove the sword's blade into the guard's vest, and unlike his switchblade, it penetrated the fabric and plastic and into the soldier's stomach.

he raised the sword again to attack the other guard, but the latter was quicker, they fired a bullet with their loaded gun, and dream gritted his teeth as he dodged - regretting it when he heard george scream and the soft thud of him dropping to his knees. he turned back to see george clutching a wound on his arm.

luckily, the guard's gun seemed to be jammed, and dream growled, swinging the blade to their neck, halting for a second when the guard dropped their weapon and raised their arms. "wait," they said, voice hoarse, "please. i'll go. i don't - i don't even wanna be here. i need this job for - my family."

dream faltered, pity rushing through him. it wasn't exactly implausible; being one of many security guards didn't seem to be too much of a difficult job, but he bet paradise paid them well. he sighed, ready to let them go, when another shriek rang out to through the air.

"shit," dream cursed, skewering the guard with his sword mercilessly when he turned around to see guards swarming in the hall, around george. the little, piteous statement had clearly been a distraction, no matter how much truth it had to it.

he jumped toward george to help, kicking and stabbing his way through, but when a bullet caught him in his calf he fell to the ground with a pained groan. with agony coursing through his veins, blood pouring out of his wound to the floor, he had no choice but to watch what was happening in front of him.

george scratched and bit and kicked like a feral dog, but there were too many guards. "wait -" dream rasped out through his pain, crawling forward on his hands and knees to make a weak grab for his sword. it was all in vain, though, as he was kicked to the floor again. "wait! george!"

"dream!" he screamed, and there were tears sliding down his face as he struggled and writhed. again, to no avail, as they carried him away. dream attempted to stand up again, but fell to his knees as soon as he did.

"nice try, kid," one of them said, and dream hated them instantly, the condescending, mocking tone of their voice. "but he's going back to the facility. and as for you - well, i'm sure the others wouldn't mind if i gave you in for the prize myself..."

_great,_ dream groaned internally as they hefted him up, _so they're not only a dick, but also a traitor of their own team. awesome._ his leg was going numb now, and with all that was left of his energy, dream channeled his anger and swung a punch toward the guard's face.

they reeled back, clutching their broken nose, blood gushing out of it like a waterfall. george was long gone, and dream didn't even try to run after him, instead taking his sword and gritting his teeth as he pushed its blade into the guard's body over and over again.

now that no one was around, all the fight flooded out of dream's body, and he dropped to the floor, exhausted. after a minute, or maybe it was an hour, he regained enough energy to pick up his sword and drag himself upright, though he had to drive the sword into the wall to stay standing.

"george," he rasped out, hand reaching out blindly as if to hold someone's hand, before he realised that george was gone. his arm fell limply to his side as he swayed from side to side, head pounding. he made toward the entrance, casting one last look back down the corridor and the trail of blood down it, both george's and the guards' mingled together.

"i'll come back," he whispered to no one in particular. the world was spinning around him. "i'll save you. and if i don't... i'm sorry."

then he staggered out the door before hitting the ground, eyes closing as everything went black. 


	19. nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream narrowly manages to escape with his life, but the consequences don't end there.

when dream awoke, face in the dirt, leg bleeding out into the ground, the area around him was empty.

he heaved a sigh of relief, flopping onto his back. the sky was, strangely, a clear, light blue - a tinge of grey mixed in as always, but seeing a colour that was lively for once across the sky was a weird sight. dream rubbed his cheek against the earth, sighing again in comfort as he closed his eyes.

the sensation of drifting surrounded him in a haze, blurring everything in his mind until everything he saw and felt and heard felt like a distant dream. everything from the crunch of the leaves, to the swinging of a fence gate, to the shattering sound of glass...

_glass._ out of everything this was the memory that made dream shoot up, so fast his head spun for a moment. he leaned against the wall and leaned down, half-lucid, picking at the edge of the bullet wound in his leg. part of it had clotted over, but dream, blankly, in a daze, pushed his fingers in to grab the bullet.

pain ripped through him once again, and before dream knew it he was on the ground again, screaming out in pain, voice muffled by the dirt. it tasted rancid and bitter but as his fingers slid against his skin he found he didn't have it in him to care. every part of his body soon went numb, and he tumbled against the ground, the small piece of metal on rolling out of his hands.

despite the temporary relief of numbness and oblivion, his leg still throbbed with heat, making dream want to curl up in a ball until it was all over. except it wasn't over, and couldn't be. when he made a weak attempt to stand his hand caught something in the grass and he hefted it up.

a sword. he tilted his head to the side and puzzled over it and why it was there before he remembered. right. paradise... the headquarters... the guards... george. he pushed his sword into the dirt and stood up, and though his legs felt like jelly this time he managed to stay up. they'd taken george.

he looked up and squinted against the side of the building. there were rows and rows of windows, countless sills and frames of glass. dream walked toward the wall and ran his palm over the dusty cement, trying to sort himself through the haze around his head when -

something slammed against one of the nearby windows, the second row from the bottom. he peered up at the glass, at whatever had thudded against the window. it had fallen back onto the sill, hanging off it in the inside of the room but visible to dream if he squinted.

the white frames, the dark, translucent lenses, the black strap that he'd seen nestled in brown hair for the past few days. those were goggles. george's goggles. dream gritted his teeth and, enduring the pain starting to pulse through his nerves again, clamped his sword between his teeth and started to make his way to the window. 

it was hard, since the window was around ten to fifteen feet from the ground, but dream managed to balance on an oil tank to lean on the sill. he put all his weight onto the cement and steadied himself on the cylindrical tank, peering into the room inside and nearly falling off at the sight.

guards lined the inside of the walls, guns at the ready. black masks over their faces. the room was nearly empty of other materials and items, but there was george, in the middle, on his back as he shifted around on the floor. he was unconscious, and dream couldn't decide whether that was a good or bad thing. 

silence, and then a murmur spread through the people inside, barely audible to dream, who leaned in closer. someone approached, a figure dream hadn't seen before, who was dressed in all black just like the guards, except the vest was replaced with a dark grey lab coat, sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

the person approached george, taking out what looked like - a needle? a scalpel? it was sharp, shining in the light that spilled in through the other window. dream figured out that they must have been some kind of scientist, as they dropped to their knees at george's side and held up the sharp edge.

too late dream realised what was going on as they brought it to the upper part of george's arm, below his shoulder. the knife dug into george's skin and a line of blood dripped onto the floor, pooling beneath his limb; dream looked away, eyes squeezed shut beneath his half-broken mask, as he couldn't bear to watch the sight. 

it was almost dead silent as dream pressed his face against the wall, grateful for the cool relief of it against his cheek. his eyes snapped open when he heard the abrupt sound of a yelp of pain and another wave of noise from the inside of the room, murmuring and chattering and speaking.

"it'll just hurt more if you struggle," the person with the knife said, examining their blood-stained scalpel and flicking the residue off of it. george had woken up and was groaning in pain, hand twitching to clamp over the wound in his upper arm, but his arms were both cuffed to the ground. "hold still if you know what's good for you."

dream closed his eyes when the blade dug into george's skin, slow, almost torturous. the sound of painful screaming made dream wince and he turned around on his oil tank, back against the window, to survey his surroundings. he had to get george out somehow.

he could use his sword to break in, but what good would that do? there were too many guards, he'd be outnumbered. maybe a distraction was needed, but he didn't have anything on him, nor was he in good enough shape to plan something complex, much less pull it off. dream needed something simple, destructive...

rummaging through his backpack, or what was left of it, since the fabric at the front had been torn and shred to pieces. his fingers slid against smooth and he brought it out, strapping his backpack across his shoulder once he made sure his album and other supplies were properly tucked into and padded by his clothing.

a lighter. there was still fluid sloshing around in it, and when he tested, it lit up perfectly. he looked down at the oil tank at his feet and a plan began to form in his head. "hang on, george," he murmured, pressing his other hand to the wall as george shrieked again. he cast one last look in, where george was trying his best to keep still, hands curled into fists, before jumping off.

the oil tank was heavy, he realised as he tipped it into his arms. but it wouldn't take much to launch it toward the window he was aiming for, especially considering how large oil explosions could be. it'd have to do, seeing as he had no other option.

testing first, dream drove his sword into the wall, pulling it out and inspecting the mark. it wasn't too thick, and it seemed to be all cement with no layer of metal or brick, which was good enough for him. dream stepped back, hand on the bright yellow container, fingers curling around the side.

one chance. he had one chance. to explode the wall, send everything into chaos, grab george, and go. that was assuming george wouldn't get crushed by any of the debris, or that the metal of his cuffs was weak enough for dream to hack through with his sword. it was faulty plan.

but it was his _only_ plan.

he ran his palm over the cool material and with his other hand, flicked his lighter. a flame sparked at the tip. small, but it would spread quickly, and anyhow the size of the fire didn't matter. dream took a deep breath before stepping back and bringing the flame to the tank.

with all his strength he chucked the lighter into the grass as far as he could, then wrapped his arms around the middle of the tank, the material that hadn't been burnt by fire yet, using all his energy to throw it up, into the air, at the window on the second floor. dream marvelled at how on target he was for a second as the tank soared up higher and higher, before he regained his senses and started sprinting away.

the force of the explosion flattened him against the ground, knees scraping against the coarse dirt. he didn't wait to examine the scratches on his legs, but instead got to his feet and ran toward the wall. the plan had worked as intended, as the entire wall was demolished, and dust was floating through the air, thick and grey.

voices rang out through the dim, sirens blaring, guards yelling into their communicators. sounds of footsteps. dream furrowed his eyebrows and ran in, pressing his mask closer to his face as he coughed out dust, searching for george in the gloom. 

a pile of debris shifted in the middle and dream gritted his teeth, sliding to his knees. the rock and cement that had gone flying in the explosion had somehow managed to break the cuff on his left hand, which was unbelievable luck, and dream pulled out his sword and got to sawing at the other one.

"dream?" george murmured, eyes half-lidded, fading in and out of consciousness. "what's going on?" he asked, seemingly oblivious to the noise and wreckage around him. dream shook his head and kept hacking at the restraints on his right arm.

"don't worry, george," dream said, trying not to focus on the confused voices and yells of recognition from around him as the metal of the cuff finally, _finally,_ snapped in two. george rubbed at his red-marked wrists before dream pulled him along, putting his sword hilt between his teeth again as he scooped up george in his arms and dashed out of the area.

he cringed when he heard someone say "over there!" and a bullet caught in the rock next to his feet. dream was tired and the aching, cramping feeling in his leg was returning to him, and he knew he wasn't running as fast as he'd liked to. another bullet glanced off his arm pad.

stepping over the stone blocking the entrance he tumbled over into the grass, grabbing george by the wrist, pulling him along. george was still confused, blood dripping down his arm from the various wounds all over his body, both from the explosion and from whatever they had been doing to him before. dream tried to ignore the wet feeling of it sliding between his fingers.

"i'm impressed, dream," a familiar voice said from behind him. not shouting, nor muffled through a mask. just a normal voice, one so monotone yet familiar. "but this battle isn't over yet. good luck." a metallic clinking noise was heard and when dream glanced back he saw a flash of pink hair.

but there was george, on his chest, struggling to even get up on his hands and knees. dream sighed and pulled him along again, shoulder to shoulder, arms braced against the other's as they ran through the woods. the sound of gunfire and screaming was beginning to fade out, even as they slowed down.

they both staggered and fell down, a strange ringing noise in dream's ears as he sank into the dirt.

and for the second time that day, he blacked out.


	20. twenty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> though he finds shelter, dream can't help but be worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before this chapter starts i'd like to say; thank you!! it might be a little obvious but i am so grateful for every single kudos, and for every comment. even if they're short or just an emoji, even if i don't reply, i love reading all of them <3

"it's okay, george. it's alright," dream managed as he stumbled through a desolate thicket of trees, face wet and sticky with blood, "i got you. it's okay. we're going to be okay." he fell to his knees and stared at george, hopeful, though the other stayed limp and unconscious in his arms. "george. wake up. i can't carry you forever."

no response. not even a stuttered out word or any sign of movement. dream held up his wrist, checking his pulse, dropping it to the ground when he didn't hear anything. he propped george's head up and brushed his dark brown hair out of his face, one he'd gotten so used to in the course of two days.

"come on," he whispered as he felt for a pulse in his wrist, dropping it when he felt nothing, eyes welling up with tears under his cracked mask. dream shook his head and buried his face into the fabric of george's t-shirt, ignoring the dirt and the dried blood on it. "come on, george, wake up."

yet again there was nothing else to meet him but silence and george's broken, ragged breaths. his chest was still rising and falling, but it was slower than usual. soon it would stop completely, but dream tried not to think about it, instead tangling his fingers through george's hair and stroking, soft and gentle. 

"it's okay," he murmured against his skin, letting his mask crumble into pieces. dream pulled away, wiping away the tears in his eyes, staring at george's face. unmoving, expressionless, peaceful. "you know, i wish you'd gotten to see me. at least once. it was kind of stupid of me, with the mask and all." he tucked a strand of dirty blonde hair behind his ear. "oh, well. guess it's - too late now."

he pressed his face into the crook of george's neck again, ready to say goodbye, to come to terms with the fact that george was dead because of him. that he'd only been killed because of dream's stubborn refusal to wait, his insistence to take down a company they didn't stand a chance against.

"are you okay?" a voice said from in front of him, and dream gasped, pulling his face out from george's shirt to look up. a yelp followed the question, and dream thought that his luck had come to an end and that this person was about to turn them in - but his next words dispelled that. "oh my goodness! what happened to you?"

"i - we..." dream sighed, "it's a lot. i'm sorry. he's... i don't know if he'll make it." he tried his best to keep his voice clear and emotionless, holding george up with difficulty. his arms were trembling from the weight.

"oh my goodness," he repeated, and dream got a good look at him as he craned his neck up. he was fairly tall, taller than george, maybe an inch or two shorter than dream. he was wearing a black jacket lined with red with the hood pulled up over his head, a leather sword strap across his torso, and black combat boots. "here, let me help with your friend."

at the word _friend,_ dream looked down at george. were they friends? they'd only known each other for two days. but then again, george was the first person he really trusted in a long time. with everything they'd been through, maybe he'd earned the right to call them friends.

making sure to look as grateful as possible, he let the stranger take hold of george. even if he didn't mean well, george was almost gone - it wasn't like whoever he was could make it worse. he didn't look malicious, though, his silver eyes filled with kindness and pity. his skin was tinged with grey, much to dream's curiosity.

"who are you?" he found himself asking, and red dusted the stranger's cheeks, prominent against his skin. 

"bad boy halo," the person replied, and dream had the urge to laugh at the strange name, "um! i know it's kind of weird so you can just call me bad." he hefted george in his arms like he weighed nothing and started walking through the trees again. "so, care to tell me what happened?"

dream opened his mouth to reply - something about bad made dream want to trust him, though he couldn't decide whether that was a good thing. "how do i know i can trust you?" he asked, as nice as possible as he was afraid bad would get offended. 

but he didn't get offended, instead turning to smile at dream in a sort of reassuring way. "i guess you have no reason to," he admitted, wind brushing through his black hair, "but that's life. sometimes you have to put faith in people." he jumped, the calm look on his face disappearing in a second. "uh, not to say you have to tell me! it's totally okay if you don't want to."

somehow this made dream smile, despite everything. "no, it's fine. we - uh. the guards at that building back there were after us. they took him." almost subconsciously dream reached out to brush george's hair from between his closed eyes. "i needed to save him. he means a lot to me."

bad blushed yet again. "oh! are you two, like... involved -?"

"no!" dream felt his cheeks heat up as well. "we're just... good friends. anyway, um. i needed to get him out, so i lit up this oil tank and exploded the wall. i think he might have been hurt by the debris or something. and i feel terrible." reflecting on it now, guilt started to burn through his chest, and his voice was thick with sadness. he took off what was left of his mask, a small white piece of it. 

"hey," bad said, placing his hand on dream's shoulder, "you tried your best. i'm sure he'll appreciate how much you did for him when he wakes up." when dream opened his mouth, bad continued. "no, he's not dead. his pulse is just really slow. but i think i might be able to heal him - oh! here we are!"

his last words made hope rush through dream's heart as they broke through the trees and gazed up a building. it was quite tall, and though the cement walls had cracks all over it seemed to be relatively well-maintained.

"welcome to saints orphanage!" bad announced proudly. "we take kids in and help them recover, give them shelter and food. and we're not government-funded, so don't you worry about any suspicious behaviour. you two are the boys from the posters, aren't you?"

"boys?" dream crossed his arms before realising that bad did seem to be a little older than both of them. "yeah, we are. and... thanks. for not turning us in. i don't know what i'd do if..." he couldn't bring himself to say it, but bad seemed to understand.

"of course not. i know better than anybody that this town isn't always the fairest. the government isn't even really the government anymore, it's just rich companies and people doing everything for more money." he sighed as they walked toward the fence gate, swinging it open.

dream tilted his head. "how do you know that?" he asked, but bad just shook his head.

"maybe i'll tell you another time. for now, we'll try to patch up your friend." dream helped him push the glass doors open. "you stay here, okay? i'll go drop him off at the clinic. please don't go anywhere or break anything. there are children here!" his voice was adamant and firm, before his face broke out into a smile and he walked off.

_an orphanage, huh._ despite bad's claims that it wasn't government-funded, the place was quite clean and in good condition. the orange and yellow colours of the setting sun flooded in through the glass doors, and there was a wooden coffee table beside him, various papers and pens on it. 

out of curiosity he shuffled through some of the papers, but they were all either notes or profiles of what dream assumed were the children living in the orphanage. if bad ran a place to shelter kids, he probably wasn't all that bad. and from how he spoke about the government, he probably knew a thing or two about it, maybe even about paradise.

he plopped down on the metal chair near the doors and laid back, closing his eyes. his blackout period hadn't been refreshing at all (in fact, it was quite the opposite), and the warm, dying light made him feel sleepy and hazy. 

it might have been minutes or hours that dream spent slipping in and out of sleep, floating away and relaxing for the first time in what felt like a long time. all he knew was that when bad came back to get him, the sun had sunken completely below the horizon.

"we figured out what his injuries are," bad explained as he looped his arm through dream's. if it was anyone else he would have jerked away, but bad radiated calming, trustworthy energy. dream supposed that was why he worked with children. "his wrist is sprained, and it's going to need some healing. his leg's been broken recently, right? it's healing really quickly, though. not sure how."

"oh!" dream said, a memory swimming back to the forefront of his mind, "we, uh, got some medicine the other day. it was kind of like a paste that he rubbed on his leg? and this clear-ish liquid. it started working nearly perfectly after that."

bad nodded, narrowing his eyes a bit. "that's interesting..." he trailed off as they walked through the building. they passed by several playgrounds and clinics decorated with painted shapes and plushies, but they were all empty. "anyway, there was also this weird gadget implanted into his arm."

"shit. a tracking device?" if it was, then they'd have no trouble finding them, and dream'd have to leave. he didn't want to put bad, much less any children, in danger. thankfully, bad shook his head.

"language! but no. it wasn't a tracking device, but it was filled with something when we got it out. some kind of liquid. the disk was half-empty, so it must have been injected in." his face fell, and he looked down at his feet as they walked. "we assumed it must have been some kind of... poison."

dream didn't bother to respond, but his fingers curled into the fabric of bad's jacket. at least if it was, it wouldn't have been his fault. except it was, because he hadn't managed to save george soon enough. maybe if he'd tried a bit harder, hadn't let himself get distracted, george would be okay...

a hand on his arm made him jump to see bad looking at him, a concerned look on his face. "dream?" he said hesitantly. "don't blame yourself. it's not your fault." 

"how'd you know that's what i was thinking?" 

he shrugged. "i'm a teacher. i guess i'm good at understanding people by now." they kept walking until they stopped by a grey door with a plaque on it that said _medical bay._ "he's awake now." dream's eyes widened and he turned to go in, stopped by bad grabbing the back of his torn-up hoodie, looking unimpressed. "but before you go in... well, he's not in the best condition. this has really affected him, and he's very weak right now, and -"

"yeah, yeah, i get it," dream interrupted, and before bad could protest he turned the door handle and burst in. george was on one of the beds, sitting atop teal green blankets and bed sheets, brown hair stringy and hanging down around his face, between his eyes. "george!"

despite bad talking to dream somewhere behind, he didn't bother to listen to anything he said, lunging forward to catch george in a hug, arms wrapping around him. tears pricked at his eyes yet again, this time in happiness. his heart soared, only to skip a beat when george pulled him away.

"i... who are you?"


	21. twenty-one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a few new developments occur at the orphanage.

a confused, panicked sound ripped itself from dream's throat. "it's me, george! dream!" his fingers wrapped themselves around george's shoulders as he smiled hopefully. maybe it was because he had his mask off, although deep inside he wasn't sure how true that was. "your friend?"

george stared blankly, albeit looking a little guilty, or sad. "i'm sorry..." he murmured, fidgeting with his fingers. "i don't remember a lot of things. i think i lost my memory. sorry. who - who were you to me?"

the question made dream _hurt,_ his heart aching in his chest as he stared sadly at the boy in front of him. who meant so much to him, and yet he didn't even remember dream - not like it was fault, but, well. "i'm your friend," dream replied, almost hesitant, "i saved you."

"thank you," george said. his voice was so sincere yet it did nothing but make dream ache more. "sorry i don't remember. i'm sure that you meant a lot to me... when i did." dream stiffened and felt tears well up in the corners of his eyes. he wiped them away, trying to calm himself.

"i'm not sure about that," he said, and at this george looked down at his feet, "but you did mean a lot to me. i just - i hope you know that." george looked back up, a frown on his face. "i didn't even know it myself, to be honest. not until a few hours ago, i don't think."

someone coughed behind him. bad. maybe they were getting a little too sappy in a clinic. "bad told me that we were trying to take down paradise before. i don't remember any of it, but that place is terrible. and if i trusted you before, i feel like i should trust you now. so i'll come with you, even if i don't remember."

dream swallowed. there was a lump in his throat as he shook his head. "we're not doing that anymore," he whispered, voice breathy, "i'm not doing that anymore, either. i never should have tried to take that place down. it's my fault that you almost died and it's my fault now that i'll never get to know how you really felt about me and that you don't remember."

"it's not your fault," george reassured him, but what did he know? he had forgotten. he was clueless. and it was all because of dream. he shook his head. "dream? are you really going to give up on this? bad tells me you're dedicated to the cause."

he looked back at bad, leaning by the doorway, watching sadly with his wide grey eyes and ruffled black hair. "i was," dream admitted, turning around to ruffle george's hair, "but that was before it hurt you."

"dream," bad said from behind him, the tone of his voice like a warning, "we should let george recover. we'll talk to you later, okay? get some rest, you muffin." dream found this oddly adorable as he followed bad outside, casting one last glance back at george, who smiled cutely at him and waved. it made him want to cry.

they turned the corner, letting the clinic out of sight, and bad sighed, leaning against the wall. he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. dream watched, feeling a little sorry for the man, and guilty for how much trouble he'd brought into his life. 

finally, bad turned to dream, cheerful once again. "that's what i wanted to tell you, dream," he said, lifting dream's hand, "he's lost his memory. there's no brain damage, so we assumed the poison did it. there are types of fluids that can hurt the memory part of the brain." he tapped at his own head. "but i've called someone. a friend of mine. he's more well-off than i am, and you know... talking to him is going to make you reconsider the whole giving up on your cause thing."

dream pulled his hand out of bad's grip, annoyed at his words. didn't he understand? he wasn't giving up because he was lazy or incompetent or any of that. it was because of george, his missing memories, everything he didn't remember - the way his heart had nearly stopped, his ragged, cracked breaths in and out. 

he didn't want to see george like that ever again.

"you don't get it," dream murmured, turning away. to his surprise, bad didn't protest, but he did smile civilly. "fine. i'll talk to him. and if he's going to help george..." he crossed his arms and let himself smile for a second. 

bad patted dream's arm and motioned for him to stay while he went off to find his friend. dream nodded, leaning back against the wall. george was gone, then. clearly he remembered who he was, and how terrible paradise was, but other than that he was blank. he didn't even remember dream.

what if they got hurt again? what if this time, george lost another, bigger chunk of his memory, until he was nothing but a shell of his former self, with no experiences or memories to look back on? dream would rather he died than be like that. the guilt would be too much to handle.

and yet - what could he do? let people keep on suffering under paradise's rule? it wasn't just george that had suffered - it was hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people starving, working night and day. and he'd be a hero, at least to some people. he'd always wanted to be someone good and brave and kind... like a knight from some sort of fairytale his mother would tell him when he was young.

"hey," someone said, and dream cracked his eye open. the first thing he noticed about the person in front of him was that he was _short,_ shorter than bad, shorter than george, even. he had dark fluffy hair, brown skin, brown eyes. "are you dream?" he asked, voice surprisingly deep for someone of his stature.

"don't be rude, you muffin," bad said, joining the two as he smiled and gestured to the stranger, "dream, this is skeppy! he's my - friend. he works with the government. but he's not going to sell you out, dream, i swear!" he promised as dream grabbed hold of his sword hilt. "he's... one of the good ones, per se. maybe the only good one."

skeppy stuck out his hand and wiggled his fingers, and dream took it, shaking it. "nice to meet you," he said, before turning to bad, "you said someone lost their memory? is this the guy?" he pointed at dream, and bad whispered something. "oh, no, okay. i'll get mega to do it. hold on."

he pulled out a phone, sleek and modern, and his fingers flew across the keyboard. after it beeped again, skeppy furrowed his eyebrows. "mega works for me," he explained, "he's kind of rude all the time though. and he's a mute. uncute mute."

at this, bad smacked skeppy lightly across the shoulder. "don't be so mean, skeppy, he's a kid. he's sixteen. we have kids here who are sixteen." skeppy rubbed his shoulder, though dream doubted it really hurt. "okay, okay, i'll go get mega myself. you two stay here and... talk."

bad wasn't exactly sly as he gave dream a hopeful look, but dream didn't have it in him anymore to be angry at bad. after all, he was giving him shelter, and he'd been the one to call skeppy. dream could at least afford to be kinder to him, try to understand him more. 

"so you're dream, huh," skeppy said, leaning against the wall beside dream, "i went to your friend's cafe. sap's frappes, i think it was called. he told me his friend's leg was broken, so i gave him medicine." dream's eyes widened at this. "didn't know that was you."

"well, it isn't. it was george whose leg was broken." dream sighed. "he's been through a lot. broken leg. sprained wrist. shot like, three times, saving me. and what do i have to show for everything we've been through? a few scars on the arms and legs."

skeppy laughed, and dream glared. "you seriously think this as some competition of who can get hurt more?" skeppy teased. "it's good you didn't get hurt, dream, i thought that'd be obvious."

he flushed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "guess so," he murmured, quick to move on from the subject, "so, uh, you're the one who gave sap that medicine? thank you. it helped him a lot. some high quality stuff. must have been expensive."

"it was," skeppy said, "but i'm rich, so. and i'd rather use my money to help people instead of - manipulating people to pretend to be ais and capitalising off of humanity's natural need for a social life." he picked at his nails, dream raising his eyebrows at the sudden verbosity. "'cause that's what _techno_ does."

_techno..._ "so you have a history with him?" dream questioned, and skeppy nodded, the teasing grin previously on his face slipping off.

"yep. i was the co-founder of paradise, if you'll believe it. well, the founder of what it used to be. a chat app, designed to give users of the app a choice to chat with other users. a system designed to bring people together." skeppy tangled his fingers together. "but techno had ideas of his own. and he didn't even want to support the orphanage anymore." he gestured toward the place around them. "guy must hate orphans or something."

dream laughed and let skeppy continue. "bad and i have been close for a long time. he depends on me, and i depend on him. paradise meant a lot to me, but bad meant more. not to mention the children here, and how greedy techno was becoming. it wasn't a question. i left."

"you were the one who wrote the letter." skeppy shot up, blinking at dream in confusion. "i, uh, found it in one of the storage rooms. below the ground? it was sealed in a box..."

"damn it, techno, you put me in the storage room?" skeppy murmured, then grinned. "i thought he'd at least put me in a file, but, oh well. i know i still live in his mind rent free." his confidence amused dream, but it also impressed him. the way he so effortlessly had no doubt about anything he said. "huh. mega and bad must've gone the long way to avoid us."

at the mention of mega and bad, dream looked around. they'd been alone for a long time now, and skeppy was probably right about his guess. dream marveled at how obvious and un-subtle bad was. 

he sighed, his situation weighing down on him again. despite what bad had said, his talk with skeppy hadn't made him particularly eager to reembark on his mission, especially not after realising how impossible it was. how low the chances were. as if he could sense dream's hopelessness, skeppy patted his shoulder.

"hey, man, no one's forcing you to do anything," he reassured dream, "trust me, i get it. but i know there are people who need you, and if you try to save them, i'll be right there with you. and your friend there? bad tells me he trusts you a lot. even after he's forgotten. so maybe you're doing something right."

" _try to_ are the keywords," dream shot back glumly, choosing to ignore the last part of skeppy's sentence, the hope rising in his heart; the spark of a - rebellion, a revolution, maybe. no matter how much he tried not to admit it, he liked the sound of that.

skeppy laughed. "well, that's all we can ever do, dream. try."


	22. twenty-two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george isn't exactly sure what's going on. all he knows it that something is wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have i mentioned i love y'all... 'cause i do.

bad had told him to get some rest. he felt guilty for not listening, but no matter how hard he tried, george couldn't fall asleep. everything felt wron, to the thickness of the blankets to the fluffiness of the pillows. it wasn't that, though, george knew. it was everything else.

although he knew it wasn't his fault, george couldn't help but feel terrible for not remembering... well, anything, really. the last thing he _did_ remember was talking to maia, but clearly so much had happened since then. he wondered what had happened to her and where she was now.

some time ago, he'd been sitting at a desk, typing away to someone behind a screen. someone who didn't even know who he was. now he was sitting on a medical bed in a clinic that smelled like medicine and rubbing alcohol, a mute kid wrapping a plaster cast around his injured wrist.

mega looked down to write on his whiteboard, turning it around to face george. _**it'll all heal in around a week and a half,**_ it read, and when mega flipped it to the other side it said: _**but you can't do anything stupid during then.**_ george sighed and nodded, wondering how this had come to pass; a broken leg, a sprained wrist, taking orders from a so-called medical professional who couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

he'd assumed mega was deaf or somehow disabled, but that wasn't true - he just preferred to stay mute. it reminded him of something, a strange sense of familiarity in someone hiding something about themselves, but just like everything else, he'd forgotten. the memory was too distant, gone from his mind.

it was a horrible feeling, like an itch he couldn't scratch. he was disconnected, clueless, from everything going on around him, and he didn't like it. george wished that someone would tell him what was happening, in full, instead of weird, cryptic statements that gave more questions than answers.

"is there any way to speed up healing process?" george asked. it wasn't that he was particularly eager to do anything, but lying around on a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, didn't seem like an optimal activity to do in his free time.

to his disappointment, mega scribbled: **_we already gave you everything we could. don't be impatient._** he tugged his green (piss yellow) scarf over his mouth. despite both bad and skeppy's reassurance that mega knew what he was doing, he was wearing a striped shirt and jeans, which wasn't exactly the most professional.

"thanks anyway," george sighed, and mega smiled, brushing back his brown hair. **_i'll be leaving now. don't do anything. just rest._** he tucked his board beneath his arm and, giving a small wave, walked out of the clinic. george flopped back onto the bed, pouting.

he wouldn't admit it, but it was lonely. if he was already feeling bored after three hours of being in the clinic, how would he survive a week and a half? he at least wished dream, whoever he was, would come back to talk to him. maybe then he'd be able to figure out what he'd meant to george before. maybe he'd even be able to regain his memories, even if it seemed unlikely.

_speak of the devil,_ he thought when the door creaked open and dream entered. he was handsome, george had to admit, with ruffled dirty blond hair and pale skin dotted with freckles. his eyes were wide and must have been some kind of green, since he doubted anyone had yellow eyes.

george reached up, brushing his fingers through his hair for his goggles, frowning at the strange absence of it. the loss of its weight on his head. he didn't use them too much, but he liked knowing he had the option when he wanted to. maybe dream had them.

"do you have my goggles?" he asked, ignoring the way dream tensed up. "they're, uh, enchroma ones, they help me with my colour blindness." he looked up, forcing himself to see the way that dream's face had somehow gotten paler, nervousness in his eyes. "dream?"

"i lost them," dream squeaked, like a child admitting that they broke their mother's favourite vase, coughing and sitting down next to george. "i'm sorry, while i was getting you out... they were probably destroyed under the debris. i'm so sorry, george. were they, like, expensive?"

his hands curled into his fists as his heart dropped. his goggles were gone. he'd never be able to hold them in his hands again, or feel the way they settled into his hair, tapping on them for comfort whenever he was anxious. "it's not about the price," he said, voice low, "my mother gave them to me. the last thing she ever gave to me, actually."

"oh, jeez, george," dream said, arm coming up to wrap around george's shoulder, "i'm so sorry. it must have meant a lot to you." all george did was nod, resisting the urge to cry. he didn't want to dream to see him as weak, crying over a pair of goggles he barely used. "it's fine to be sad, you know."

despite his words, george still resolutely blinked his tears away, wiping at the rims of his eyes. "it's a little stupid," he admitted, "i mean i never used those goggles. people always pitied me when i said i was colourblind, and it pissed me off a lot." he fell back onto the bed, arms beneath his head. "so i kind of wanted to show them i was just fine without the goggles. and i am."

"that's stupid. you're not any less incapable or capable because you're colourblind," dream protested, and george smiled through the pain.

"exactly. i'm glad you understand... dream." the name felt a little weird whenever he said it, but it was a nice name. dream. another wave of nostalgia washed over him. but as always, the feeling was just another memory that he didn't remember.

he opened his mouth to say something, anything, to break the awkward silence, when mega burst in. as if on instinct, dream and george jerked away, although they weren't doing anything. mega raised his eyebrows and showed them his whiteboard, with smaller, longer text written on it.

_**we did some research on the liquid injected into you. there are records of people getting the memories back.**_ dream turned to george, a hopeful look on his face. mega flipped his whiteboard around. _**triggered by a strong memory or experience. do you two have anything like that?**_

they looked at each other. it would be all up to dream to trigger something like that, since george, well, had lost his memories. he hoped they'd had at least one special memory together, because he couldn't live like this - not like some version of himself with chunks and pieces missing.

_**think about it,**_ mega had written on their whiteboard, and was about to write something else when skeppy burst in, looping his arm around mega's shoulder and grinning. they were about the same height, despite the age difference.

"hey, mega! so, bad and i want to go have some coffees, but bad's taking care of the kids, right now, so can you get some for us?" he grinned, fluttering his eyelashes, as mega sighed and wrote on his whiteboard with his marker. "really. uncute mute."

mega had written _**fuck off**_ on his board. dream was snickering at it, and when george turned to look at him, he was speechless for a moment. he seemed so... happy. carefree. different from the serious person he'd seen before. there was so much more to dream than he knew, and george felt like, deep inside, he _did_ know dream. except it was all gone.

he used to know him, but now dream was a stranger. it made his heart ache with longing. for a second, george thought that he'd go through everything - every injury, every second of pain, to know him again.

the thought was banished in a second as george flushed a deep red. _that's ridiculous,_ he told himself, hands curling up in his lap. he jumped when dream placed a hand on his own, and he looked up, snapping back to reality. mega and skeppy were gone, and dream was looking at him with a worried look on his face.

"you zoned out there," he said. serious dream was back, then. maybe that was for the better. "hey. about what mega said - i have an idea. to maybe regain your memories. if you're up for it." he stood up, brushing off his pants before offering his hand out to george.

and what was he going to do, say no? george took a deep breath and smiled, taking dream's hand, callused and warm under his. just like nearly everything else to do with dream, it felt familiar, but he couldn't recall a single time where he'd ever held his hand. it made him frown as they walked out of the clinic, hand in hand.

george raised his eyebrows when dream led him to a staircase, confident like he'd known the place for a long time. "bad showed me around, before. this place is really cool. he showed me this place where he'd let the kids play sometimes - i'll just show you, here."

with a final step they reached the next floor up. dream led him to turn around, through a few doors, until eventually they stepped into an outdoorsy area. george's eyes widened at how beautiful it was; a mini waterfall by a group of rocks like a sort of alcove. he let himself relax as dream sat on the stones, sitting down beside him as they stared at the fake grass.

"remember anything yet?" dream asked hopefully, and george drooped, shaking his head. had they been here before? "we, um. it was raining. we sat in this cave by the border of the city and we talked about... my photo album. you don't remember? that was after i saved you. after you saved me."

george laughed at the contradiction. "after we saved each other, you mean?" he'd meant it as a joke, a tease, but dream blushed at it, smiling in such a soft way it made george blush himself.

"yeah," dream murmured, "that's what i meant. here, this might refresh your memory a bit -" he pulled his backpack out, which had been stitched together with string and held together by tape. it was somewhat of a messy patchwork, but endearing in a way. dream pulled a thick album book out of it. 

he flipped through it, george looking over his shoulder at the pretty pictures in each file, all laminated and high-quality, wondering how dream had afforded such a good camera. maybe he'd been well off as a child. dream stopped at a particular photo, one of a flower on a stem, dark blue, though george guessed that in reality it was probably more vibrant.

"it's purple," dream said, and george nodded. must have been some kind of lavender. "i still can't believe you see it as blue. you told me that. just two days ago." he pressed his thumb over the photo. "feels like forever ago now."

"feels like nothing to me," george tried to joke, and dream laughed. despite the fact that the joke wasn't very funny, dream just kept laughing like it was the most hilarious thing in the world. "jeez, okay."

dream clapped his hand over his mouth in an attempt to calm himself. "no," he gasped out through the laughter, "it's not that funny, i just -" he started snickering once again, placing his other hand on george's shoulder, "- i've just missed you a lot, george." he stopped laughing for a moment to smile at him, all sincere.

_this is it now,_ george thought, his shoulders tensing up as he smiled back, a light feeling rushing through his chest like water overflowing in a glass. _this is it. i'll get my memories back now._ he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for it to all come back to him.

nothing happened. 

"george?" dream asked, the hand on his shoulder curling into the fabric of his shirt. he felt happy, light, staring at dream's pictures in a mini cave, the barely-visible stars in the night sky blinking, white and shiny. he really did feel happy, except it wasn't him. nothing felt complete. "oh, good. thought i lost you for a second there. this is when i dyed my hair red."

despite the heaviness in his heart and the squeezing sensation in his stomach, george tried his best to laugh. "i thought it was only going to be a week, but, uh. well, it turned out like a month. can you imagine me? ginger?"

"doesn't look ginger to me," george said, and dream laughed, punching him lightly in the shoulder. he looked back down at the picture, young, chubby, dream, with weirdly-coloured hair and missing teeth.

"you're colourblind, moron," dream shot back, wrapping his arm around george's shoulder. _why can't i just be happy,_ george asked himself as they both stared into the night, feeling his mind start to scramble again, like it was looking for something that wasn't there. 

they sat there, for a few moments, george feeling like he was about to cry despite the overwhelming comfort dream gave him - the weight of his arm around george's shoulder, the smell of his hoodie, his messy, dirty blond hair tickling george's cheek. it was nice. if only george was complete.

eventually, he got up, making an excuse about having to get some rest so he could heal. dream watched him go with a smile on his face, leaning back against the rocks and out the window.

when george fell asleep, he dreamt of masks, and smoke, and pieces of gold. he wished he knew what it all meant. 

  



	23. twenty-three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> even with preparation, dream isn't sure of how ready he is for what's to come.

"so, is he back yet?" skeppy asked, first thing in the morning, passing a bowl of oatmeal toward dream, who scarfed it down. he didn't remember the last time he'd eaten something so filling. when skeppy kept staring at him with an expectant look on his face, dream shook his head.

"no," he replied, without an explanation. he didn't like thinking about who george was now, as opposed to who he had been. dramatic, maybe, but it was a little too painful. skeppy seemed to sense his refusal to talk and sighed, turning back to his own oatmeal, picking at it but not eating. "what's wrong?"

skeppy sighed. "i don't really like oatmeal. i'm more used to fancy stuff." he pushed the bowl away. "eh, i'll just save it for bad. i'm sure he'll appreciate it." dream sure wasn't, but what did he know? maybe bad loved oatmeal. he seemed like the type of person to love oatmeal. "by the way, dream, i have a map of the paradise headquarters, if you're up for checking it out.

in a moment dream was up from his chair, the oatmeal in his bowl completely gone. a map would definitely be useful for navigating, instead of them running around trying to find a way out like trapped squirrels. skeppy laughed at dream's enthusiasm and shoved his own bowl into the mini fridge.

he gestured for dream to follow him to a side room filled with shelves and files where he drew out a blank piece of paper. "bad used to work for paradise, too," he explained. "he wasn't as important as _me_ , of course, but we kept a map of the base. you know... just in case anything happened."

the paper was about the size of dream's torso and while one side was blank, the other was filled with depictions and drawings of different floors of what dream assumed was the headquarters. skeppy shoved a few books to the floor and laid the map out across the desk.

"i'm not so good at this strategy thing," skeppy admitted, drawing up two chairs for them to sit at as dream rummaged for a pen that still had ink in it in the surrounding pencil holders. he found one, and although it was bright blue he'd have to deal with it. "you should take the lead."

dream nodded, settling into the chair and staring at the map. since it was divided into floors on the paper, the diagrams were a little smaller than he'd like, but he could work with it. every red dot symbolised a guard station, skeppy told him, and there was one at every doorway.

for the next few hours dream ran over the floor plans over and over and over again, while skeppy put in some input every now and then. after a particularly long explanation of how he'd demolished the entire left wall of the building, leaving it crumbling to pieces and burning like california in the summers of two-thousand-and-twenty-two, skeppy had fallen asleep, face pressed into the light blue sleeves of his hoodie and snoring away.

even after that dream continued to scribble arrows and words all over the paper, trying to track the most efficient way to reach the top of the building with encountering the least amount of guards. now that george was more healed up, and they had more supplies as well as bad and skeppy on their side, dream assumed it would be easier.

he bit on his lip, trying to decide whether going down the hallway or up the staircase would be a better idea, writing down an arrow to indicate up. everything felt so much easier now that he was with bad, because no matter how cool it had been living in the woods, the dirt wasn't a very good surface for writing.

dream lifted up the final map, drawn on the other side, the once-blank side, now filled with a cohesive plan. he'd even taken the time to make his writing more legible, so that bad and skeppy and george would understand when they tried to read it. god, george.

the boy had so much faith in him, it was ridiculous. even with his memories missing and his mind shot to pieces, george'd follow dream nearly everywhere. it was almost funny, how willing he was, how much trust he seemed to put in dream. but mostly, it was just heartwarming.

maybe on some level george did remember. maybe he couldn't recall exactly what he'd done, or the times they'd spent together, under the moonlight, walking through the woods; but maybe the memories weren't gone. maybe they'd just been pushed to the back of his mind. dream just had to bring them out somehow, remind george of who he used to be.

it was harder than it sounded.

if george didn't remember after dream'd brought him to show him his photo album, then there was probably nothing that could be done. the thought made dream frown. george trusted him, but he didn't know him. everything they'd had for the past two days... gone. disappeared.

before he knew it the desk was spotted with tears, and dream shook his head, shoving the map away so it wouldn't get wet. he buried his face in his hands and sighed shakily. it was a little stupid; it was two days. two days, fourty-eight hours. not much time they'd had together.

but it had meant so much to dream. despite everything, it was probably the first two days in a long, long time where he'd truly, properly felt alive. he probably wouldn't have felt that way if it weren't for george.

"skeppy?" dream found himself saying, shaking at skeppy's shoulder as his head lolled onto the desk. "skeppy, wake up. will you come with us? to fight? i know you've already given us a lot of supplies, and i'm grateful, but we could use a little force."

blearily, skeppy rubbed at his eyes, stretching back as he woke up. "thought that was more bad's thing," he murmured, still sleepy, and dream raised his eyebrows. bad was nice, but he didn't seem like the type of person to be into any kind of violence. "he used to shoot and throw knives and stuff, you know."

this made dream's eyes widen in curiosity as skeppy continued. "yeah. i mean, he doesn't like hurting people, but he's good at it." he yawned. "besides, i'm not strong at all. and someone's got to watch over the kids here. uh, mega and i, that is. even if he's a kid himself."

dream snickered at the thought of what mega would respond to that if he were here. he turned back to the paper, scribbling out skeppy's name and replacing it with bad's, pen hovering over the paper at george's name.

would he even know what was going on, what to do? george may have been capable, but he didn't have any experience in combat, especially after forgetting what was likely the only time he had to fight for his life in years. would he hesitate? would he let his compassion get the best of him, just like dream's had a day ago?

and what if he got hurt, yet again, and dream was to blame for it?

skeppy had fallen back asleep, and dream sighed, ruffling his fluffy hair. it was clear he didn't have the most healthy sleep schedule, evident in the dark circles under his eyes, and dream just hoped he'd get enough rest and be alert enough to protect the orphanage.

he stood up, rolling the map into a paper tube, walking out the side room. he'd have to wait a week, anyway, for george's leg and wrist and wounds to heal. maybe by then he'd have his memories back. dream lightened up with optimism, a bounce in his step as he walked. yeah. he'd just have to keep trying.

when he crashed into someone, he rubbed at his chest and opened his mouth to snap - closing his mouth when he realised it was george. another wave of guilt hit him as george rubbed at his head, fingers subconsciously searching for his goggles that were usually nestled in his hair, only to find nothing.

"oh, hey, dream," he said, distracted, jerking his head toward the paper in dream's hand. "uh, sorry, i was thinking. what's that?" dream lifted the paper up and unrolled it, showing the completed map and plan to george, who reached out to run his bandaged hand over it. "why's my name crossed out?"

dream took a deep breath. _fuck it._ it wasn't that he didn't want george to come along - hell, that was probably the opposite of what he wanted - but he couldn't bear to see george get hurt again. he'd been through so much already. "george... i don't think you should come."

the effect the words had on george were immediate to see, the excitement in his face fading away to be replaced by a look of surprise. he stepped back, trying to process what dream had said. "but," he sputtered out, tugging at the sleeves of his black hoodie, "why?"

"it's just that... any day now paradise might track us down. we can't wait a week," he lied. that was a factor, sure, but he knew deep inside it was because if anything happened to george yet again dream would never forgive himself. besides, he wasn't sure if he could be reminded of the painful past in the form of george for so long.

at this george lit up, though, dark brown hair bouncing. it'd been washed, dream guessed, as it was now soft and wavy and smooth. dream wanted to run his fingers through it. "good news, then! mega said that my leg is actually healing faster since the medicine was given before. so it might just be five days! i can come anyway." he grabbed dream's hand in both of his, enthusiasm wiped off his face when dream stayed silent.

"it's not just that," dream replied, and although the feeling of george's hands cupping his, thumb stroking back and forth slowly, felt amazing, he pulled away. "george... you've lost your memory. and you've never had experience with combat. i just think that maybe -"

"so you're saying i'm a liability, is that it?" george asked, voice cold and flat as he crossed his arms. dream could sense an tone of hurt under it, and the guilt that felt like a weight in his heart got even heavier as he stepped toward george, who stepped back yet again.

he sighed, dropping his arms to his side. "no, george. i'm not saying that at all. just listen, okay?" dream breathed in, trying to calm himself. if there was any a time to be truthful, this was it. "i'm scared that you'll get hurt again, and it'll be my fault."

silence. dream felt his stomach churn, and he curled his fingers into the fabric of his hoodie to distract himself. had he done something wrong, he wondered, as george stared at him, no longer hurt or confused or angry. almost wondrous.

then he burst out laughing.

"why are you laughing?" dream asked, incredulous, even as he sensed laughter bubbling up in his chest, too, and in his throat. george's laugh was contagious, high-pitched and breathy and soft and so purely george it was nearly heartbreaking. 

george shook his head, arms around his middle. his laugh was so restrained, and it made dream smile, made him want to pull george to his chest and never let go. "no, it's just," he sighed, tucking his hair behind his ear, "dream, you know if i get hurt, it's not your fault?"

dream shrugged. "it was my fault, before." george let out a huff of a laugh at this again. "it's not funny, george. you've already broken your leg, and sprained your wrist, and you've been shot, like, three times. it's not funny. i don't want you to go through any more shit."

"dream," george said, voice all sincere and flattering, "you're stupid. you know, i don't remember anything. sometimes i feel like the person i am now and the person i used to be are completely different people." he laid his hand over his chest, and dream wondered whether it was subconscious. "and yeah, i forgot. but what i do remember is that he - the george you used to know - he felt really happy with you."

his words made dream's heart swell. "the george i used to know would never have said that," he protested, despite the smile drawing itself on his lips, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes his mother used to coo about. 

"maybe." george shrugged, picking up dream's hand once again. this time, dream didn't let go. "but i'm a new person, now, i think. it hurts, but i think i can live with it." there was a sort of gentle pessimism in his voice, like he'd given up on getting his memories back, and that he'd made peace with that. "so let me go with you, okay?"

for a moment, dream was about to argue, to push back. but he thought that maybe, for once, he should just let himself be happy. 

"yeah... yeah, okay."


	24. twenty-four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream, george, sapnap, and bad prepare to embark on their mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter! next one will be, uh, pretty long ;)

it had been five days since then, since dream and george's conversation in that room. a memory that dream still looked back on with fondness.

memory. george hadn't gotten his back, yet, and though dream would let him come either way he was getting more concerned by the day. maybe mega had been wrong. maybe they'd mistaken the poison for another similar one. because at this point, dream couldn't see george coming back.

not after he'd spent so much time trying to bring him back. and dream thought it was a little dumb, how five days meant so much less to him than two, but there was something different about those two days. he didn't know why they meant so much to him. he just knew that they did.

maybe it was the factor of them running for their lives. dream wouldn't be surprised. it just made everything more meaningful, didn't it? knowing that every word you spoke to someone could be the last thing you'd ever say to them.

george always apologised, even though he had nothing to apologise for. "sorry," he'd say, "i'm sorry i forgot." _i'm sorry i don't remember._ it was ridiculous, grating even, but dream appreciated it. how hard he was trying. and he remembered them, sitting in bed, together. there had only been one guest room.

("does it hurt?" he had asked, "the losing memories thing." he wasn't exactly sure what he'd meant.

"doesn't hurt," george had replied, "more like i don't know who i am anymore." 

dream hadn't known how to respond to that.)

a hand on his shoulder made him jump. sapnap. he'd come from the cafe, which had been closed down for a few days for 'personal reasons', to help. dream didn't want to know where he'd gotten a piston that looked at least seventy years old.

"does that thing even work?" he asked, leaning over to look at the weapon. it looked like it did, but it was still rusted and a little old. sapnap slid a round into the chamber and clicked, and dream shot back, alarmed. "shit, sapnap, don't do that! not in here!"

" _sorry!_ " he clicked the safety on and slid it back into his backpack guiltily. "but yeah, i checked, and it works just fine. you have nothing to worry about, dude, this guy's more experienced with guns that you would think." sap smiled smugly, but it slid off his face. "i talked to george."

dread flooded through his chest and stomach the second his name was out of sapnap's mouth. "he remembered me, at least, so that's good. remembers paradise as well. doesn't remember you at all, though. he said that he thinks something really big happened during those two days." dream leaned in as sapnap's voice dropped to a whisper, despite the room they were in being empty. "he said he wishes you would tell him."

dream sighed, bringing his hands up to his face, only to realise he didn't have his mask; he wished it hadn't broken back at the headquarters. he settled for weaving his fingers together. george may have been the one to lose his memory, but with how much of a loss dream was at, he might have lost his, too. he didn't exactly know how to tell george that everything that had happened between them, he'd already told, in an effort to refresh his mind.

no result, of course. what else could he be withholding? something that he always kept to himself? well, his face, but george didn't know anymore what significance that held to it. he'd tried everything. unless whatever george wanted dream to tell him was something dream didn't even know himself.

he sat up on a desk, drawing his knees up to his chest and sighing as sapnap rummaged through his bag for something. dream thought about the pleasant, warm feeling that spread to his fingertips, whenever george smiled at him; or the little leap his heart seemed to give whenever george, pouted, blushing red. sometimes dream would rile him up on purpose, just to see his cheeks get all cute and -

_oh._

"dream! sapnap!" someone sang just as dream opened his mouth to tell sapnap about his epiphany. bad had burst in through the door, arms full of supplies. "george is just readying up in the infirmary! sapnap, i got you this." he pressed a stiletto knife into sapnap's hand, and he stared at it in awe. "dream, for you."

his gift was a mask. plain white metal with a smiley face drawn on it, just like the one dream'd had when he'd entered sap's frappes for the second time. the one he'd had when he met george for the first time. the reminder of it all made dream want to cry and smile all at once. "thanks, bad," he whispered, "i love it."

gently, he brought the mask up to his face, and sighed in relief. despite the heat it was nice to have the weight on his face again, to know he wasn't too exposed. bad clapped him on the back and smiled, wide and happy and cheerful. no wonder skeppy liked him so much.

dream leaned back on his desk, staring at the clock on the wall. an hour until they were set to go. nervousness swirled in his stomach as bad tugged metal armour pads over his arms and over his boots. sapnap was fiddling with his headband. when he looked out the room, there was george, leaning against the wall, biting his lip.

sapnap sent dream a look that he couldn't quite decipher when he jumped off the desk and made for the door. he shot sap a glare as he left the room and leaned on the wall next to george. "hey," he said, voice deeper than he wanted it to be. george nodded in reply. "are you nervous?"

at first, it looked like george was going to deny it, but he seemed to decide against it as he sighed. "yeah," he admitted, crossing his arms. "i want to go, but i don't what's going to happen. and you're right. i've never really fought before." he shrugged. "what, are you nervous?"

"are you kidding? of course," dream answered easily, and if the words got stuck in his throat for a moment, well, george didn't seem to notice. of course he was nervous. not just for their trip, though. "george? i - i need to tell you something."

george's eyes widened just a fraction as he turned to dream, nodding for him to go on. _god, why is this so hard._ it wasn't even more than ten words. it didn't need an explanation. one sentence and he'd be done with it. one sentence.

in his nervousness he lifted his arms and placed both his hands on george's shoulders. george stared, unblinking, placing his hand over dream's on his shoulder, smiling almost reassuringly. dream took another deep breath, trying to suppress what felt like a tsunami in his stomach. "george..."

against his better judgement he slid his right hand up to press his palm against george's cheek. "george," he tried again, swallowing down the bile in his throat, "i'm in love with you."

before george could respond, dream continued. he didn't want to hear whatever he had to say, the inevitable rejection. "and i - i know you don't feel the same way, and i know it's a little stupid, but those days meant a lot to me, and you mean a lot to me. and i feel like you have the right to know."

george looked blank, no emotion in his face as he stared at dream with wide eyes. dream sighed and turned away, heart aching. being shot was less painful than this; it wasn't like he'd been expecting george to feel the same way, but the silence and the total lack of expression hurt him more than anything.

as he slid his hand down from george's face, george looked down and caught it in his own, still staring blankly even as he squeezed and held on tightly to dream's hand. his eyebrows were furrowed, and when he looked back at dream, his brown eyes were shiny. 

"dream?" he questioned, and dream's eyes widened as well, turning fully to face george as his eyes darted around. "i - where are we? did we -"

" _george!_ " before george could finish his question dream had crashed into him, arms wrapping around his torso as they fell to the ground. dream buried his face into the crook of george's neck, tears spilling out of his eyes like a waterfall as george yelped in confusion. "george. you're back."

when he sat up, george was rubbing at his head. "oh, i remember now," he said, a small smile on his face, "yeah, i'm back. pretty cool." dream choked on a laugh, wiping away the tears that dripped down his cheeks, worried he was being overdramatic. "it was you."

"what?"

"it was you, dream. by admitting it you brought me back." george laughed as dream tackled him in another hug, breathing in and out as he struggled not to burst out bawling on the floor then and there. he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "and actually, i think i love you too."

dream made an inhuman noise as he looked down, smiling so wide he thought his face might have split in half. because here was george, and he was back, and he remembered, sitting on the floor in front of him with a soft grin on his face and he _loved dream back._

with a shaky, breathy sigh, dream leaned forward and pressed his forehead against george's. he needed to calm down. everything was so blurry and hazed around the edges, and he was sure that if he tried to stand he'd come crashing back down.

after a while, when he'd come back down from his high, dream pulled away. "okay," he said, voice still wobbly, as george laughed and brushed his hair back. "okay. george, you ready? we'll do this together. with sap and bad." he gestured toward the room the other two were in.

"yeah. i'm ready." he stood up just as dream did. "bad gave me this." he pulled a dagger out of his backpack. its hilt was decorated with carvings and it shone in the light. "i - i won't lie, dream, i'm still a little scared. but you'll be there, right?" he nudged him with his elbow. "i think i can do this if i have you."

dream's heart fluttered in his chest as he smiled. "yeah," he whispered, and he felt a little braver. "yeah. we'll do this together."


	25. twenty-five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the four make their way through the paradise headquarters.

"sure you want to do this?" dream asked, grabbing hold of george's hand and squeezing. he seemed nervous, himself, though george doubted it was anything compared to the feeling in his own stomach. it made him want to throw up all over the ground. "we could use your help, but you don't have to."

george looked down at his feet, steeling himself as he took a deep breath. the building, despite having its entire left wall blown out, was as intimidating as ever, standing high and tall into the sky. the construction workers had gone out for lunch, and dream had assured all of them that would be enough time.

"i'm sure," george said, clenching his fist. he brought his hands up to wrap his cloak tighter around his shoulders. the weather had settled into a cool breeze, but goosebumps still appeared all over his skin. sap had gone ahead to scout the area, and bad was fiddling with his knives, oblivious to everything else. "and if this goes wrong."

"it won't."

"i know it won't," george lied, turning to face dream, stroking his thumb over dream's knuckles. "but if it does, okay, just know that i'm really grateful to have met you. and that i'm glad i at least got to see your face." he ran his fingers over the side of dream's mask and smiled. "okay, enough talk. let's do this."

dream opened his mouth as if to say something, but a second later he closed it and shook his head. "right. bad, let's go." he gestured toward sapnap, who was waving at them and giving them the thumbs-up signal. they crept up to him, around the back of the building, where they watched the entrance.

unlike last time, there were more than two guards stationed around the door. george counted five, but there may have been more. they had sap and bad this time, though, so maybe they stood a chance. the loud _click_ of a piston loading resounded through the air and they all turned to look at sapnap.

_sorry,_ he mouthed, aiming at one of the guard's heads. george saw him mouthing, counting down: _three, two, one_ \- a loud bang was heard, and the guard dropped to the ground, blood pooling under his head. the others turned toward them, and before george could react dream sprung to his feet and charged.

laughing at his enthusiasm, george watched as sapnap and bad rushed forward as well. a gun fired somewhere in the fray, and a bullet struck the dirt next to george's foot. moments later the guard got a sword through the chest, courtesy of dream, who lifted his bloodstained sword to the light, grinning proudly.

"dream!" george yelled as a guard lifted his gun to shoot. his bullet ended up barely skimming the sleeve of dream's hoodie as sapnap shot him in the head just in time. "idiot. be careful next time. stop flexing."

"sorry, george, i just wanted to impress you." the honesty surprised george, whose eyebrows shot up in the air even as bad pinned a guard to the wall with a knife. "i won't do it again. come on, y'all, let's go!" he swiped a card off of one of the guards, who got kicked in the head with all of george's might when he tried to stop them. 

the hallway looked the same as it did a week ago, though now the white ceramic tiles were chipped and broken, riddled with bullet holes. they stepped over them cautiously as george pulled out dream's map, running his finger over it. "to the right," he said, pointing down the corridor, and they went on their way. "now left. but there are guards."

three of them, standing near the staircase. sapnap shot one in the neck, making them drop dead, as bad sent three knives into the arm of the other. "sorry!" he yelled as dream slashed his sword across the face of the last one, gesturing for them to go up the staircase. george looked over to sap, who was looking at dream like he was a visionary.

"he sure is something, huh?" sapnap asked, and in response george just raised his eyebrows. "just saying. i've never seen anyone half as stubborn and bossy as he is. and he makes it work, too." he nudged george with his elbow. "you're lucky, george."

before george could ask what the hell sapnap was going on about, the latter was already jogging to catch up with dream as they ascended the staircase. he turned to see bad, staring at the throwing knives between each of his fingers, and george nudged him gently. "hey. you okay?"

"hmm? oh, i'm okay," bad said, voice cheerful, though the slight look of desolation on his face stayed. he spun one of the knives between the fingers of his other hand. "i just haven't done this for a long time. there's a reason i quit - i don't really like hurting people. putting them in danger."

guilt washed through george as he placed a hand on bad's shoulder. "you know, you don't have to come with us if you don't want to. no one's forcing you to." 

bad shook his head, puffing his chest out. "no," he said, "no. i know this is for a good cause, and it's necessary. and i want to help you three!" he shot george a grateful look, eyes full of his usual kindness and compassion. "but thank you, george, for worrying."

he tugged his red-and-black hood over his head and ran to catch up with dream, george following closely behind. they emerged on the second floor, where sapnap was shooting someone between their eyes, and dream turned to look at the two. 

"what took you two so long? don't answer that. let's move!" he turned on his heel, sword in hand and switchblade in the other, down the hallway. the three ran after him, taking out guards along the way. and though george got a scrape on his arm from a bullet skimming past it, and sapnap got a baton to the knee, causing him to limp, they stayed mostly unharmed.

_talk about luck,_ george thought as he slid under a guard's gun, poised to shoo, stabbing him in the neck with his dagger. he felt a little bad about it, even if it was laughable how incompetent they were. "here," he said, looking back and forth between a door and his map. dream stopped in his tracks and pointed to the door, confused. "yeah, apparently."

it was a little inconspicuous, to say the least. the wall around the door was torn apart, the top layer of the cement peeling away to reveal grey underneath. a strand of wire stuck out of the doorway, and it made a fizzling sound when george flicked it. sapnap tried the door handle, but the door didn't budge.

george wedged his dagger blade in between the door and the doorway, and to his surprise the metal was easy to saw through, and the door sprung open. dream laughed and threw his arm around george's shoulder, using his other hand to ruffle george's hair. 

"wait, dream," bad said, his voice like a warning, but it was far too late. dream was already stepping in to what lay beyond the door, dark and black, and the second he did, the floor shifted and made a clicking sound.

"oh, that can't be good," dream remarked, before the floor seemed to fall open beneath him, swinging downward like two flaps of a cardboard box. george screamed his name gritting his teeth as he stepped in after dream, ignoring sapnap and bad's shouting. 

after that, it was pitch black. darkness swarmed around him as wind whipped past his face, and he spread his arms and legs out in an attempt for balance and stability as he spun through the air. "dream!" he yelled, struggling to hear anything past the ringing in his ears. "dream!" he screamed again, so loud it made his throat hurt.

in the distance - so faint george had to strain his ears to hear it - his name was yelled back. somewhere to his right. he kicked in that direction to the best of his ability, through the air, hand outstretched until it brushed against something. with one last spurt of energy he burst forward, colliding into dream.

"how far down does this go? feels like we've been falling for forever," dream said, voice more shaky and fearful than george had ever heard him. his arms came to wrap around george as they fell through the air. "i'm scared of heights. george - shit. shit. shit." he buried his face into george's shirt, and george held him as tight as he could.

this was it, then. he hoped bad and sapnap would find a way to succeed.

when he hit the surface, pain shot through his system, racing up his arms and legs and torso, wrapping around him like a vice. his hand went limp in dream's as he tried to breathe, suffocating -

wait, suffocating? 

george's throat constricted as he gasped for air, but it felt like more he was submerged underwater. his fingers curled into whatever he was sinking into and with difficulty he pulled himself up, hands scrambling for a hold on the sticky ground. he yelped, disgusted, when he realised what he was in - an ocean of slime, semi-translucent and viscous. 

that disgust was quickly gone, though, when he realised dream's hand had gone limp. "dream!" he shouted, struggling toward him. dream didn't even seem to be aware what was happening, mask half-off his face, eyes closed as he writhed in the sludge.

he was suffocating, george realised, as his mouth opened and closed, trying to take in air but getting nothing but nasty green muck. george gritted his teeth, and dove under, hands wrapping around dream's arm as he tried to pull him out.

dream was choking now, hacking and coughing as george kicked at the slime he was in, muscles straining as he pressed his lips closed and pulled toward the surface. so close. he could see where it ended, just a bit more, and dream'd be safe, even as he writhed in his grasp.

"come on!" george managed, clenching his jaw. a bit further. whimpery, painful noises were emitting from dream, mask barely attached to his head, the leather strap around his head gone loose. in desperation, george reached down and wrapped his hand around dream's face, pulling him up toward the surface.

with a desperate breath, george emerged, dream in his arms, green slime spurting out of his mouth and onto his jacket. he gulped down air, looking at dream, whose eyes were still scrunched close in pain. george coughed himself, pressing a hand to dream's chest and pressing down.

he yelped when an amount of slime burst out of dream's mouth, landing on his shirt and face, but sighed in relief when dream's eyes started to open. "george," he said, voice weak and hoarse, as he gripped onto the other. "oh, thank god."

"we're fine!" george shouted as loud as he can, and though barely he heard bad shout _what?_ back. "yeah, we're fine! come down here! but there's slime, so be careful!" as gently as he could he let dream down, trying to pick out the sludge plastered to his hair and face. 

a few minutes later, while dream hacked out the rest of the slime left in his lungs and throat, sapnap and bad landed next to him. bad got to the surface easily, and although sapnap did struggle a little, they all managed to make it out alive. "this is weird," dream murmured, "why put the slime? he could just let us hit the floor."

"well, it's techno," bad said, eyebrows furrowing, "this is probably all a game to him. don't worry, though, he'll regret underestimating us." bad puffed out his chest and sliced a chunk of slime out with his knife. "huh. this stuff isn't even toxic, i don't think. usually used for padding." sapnap ripped out a piece and rolled it between his fingers. "it's like he wants us alive."

the notion sent shivers down george's back as he ran his hand through the jelly-like substance. before he could say anything, dream pointed toward their right, and bad pulled a torch out of his backpack, shining it in the direction dream was pointing in. though he had to squint, george saw a sliver of light. "how'd you know it was there, dude?" sapnap asked.

dream shrugged, almost ominously. "just knew," was his curt response. they swam and kicked through the slime, and the closer they got, the brighter the light got. after a few minutes of struggling through the muck, they reached the light source - a glass door, one that swung open surprisingly easy, the slime making a squelching noise as the door cut though it.

the four tumbled through the door, landing on the floor. bad slammed the door shut before any of the slime could leak out, and george pressed his cheek against the cool tiles, grateful for the cool, solid surface. 

somewhere in the distance, an alarm sounded, and dream hauled george to his feet as they continued to the corridor, only to meet an end. a sliding glass door leading into a pod, cylindrical in shape, almost like a lift. dream's finger hovered over the _up_ button. 

"guess this is the end," george said, "this is it, right, dream? this must lead to the top. where... technoblade is." he peered into the space, the tube he assumed the pod would travel up when the button was pressed. 

"there's only space for two people," he said, and sap nodded. the lift was a little small, and there was no way all four of them would fit inside it. "and," dream added, "someone needs to stay back to hold off the guards. can't let them get into... wherever this leads. it'll just be more to deal with."

george winced at the tension between them. dream had put his mask back on, and it was impossible to figure out what he was thinking, how he felt. "we'll stay behind," bad finally said, placing his hand on sapnap's shoulder. "we'll hold them off, too. you two go on ahead. face techno."

sapnap nodded, seeming to agree. "yeah, you two started this -" he looked between dream and george, eyes lingering on the latter for a moment, "- i think you two have the right to end it. go ahead. y'all get him for us, okay?" he pumped his fist and grinned. 

"okay," dream said, taking a deep breath as he pressed the button. the doors to the pod slid open, and he took george's hand, which was shaking. he relaxed a bit when dream nodded at him. "okay. george, let's do this. ready?"

"ready," he responded, and they stepped in. 


	26. twenty-six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which dream and george face technoblade, but things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update; my last chapter didn't get many comments and i felt a little demotivated. i hope you all haven't started hating this fic :') with that said, enjoy!

they stayed silent, in the pod, and dream couldn't help bouncing his leg as they traveled up.

it earned a raised eyebrow from george, although he seemed nervous, too, gripping at his stomach as he bit his lip. "we'll be fine," he managed, and dream nodded. he knew he'd be fine, at least, as long as he had george by his side, with sad dark brown eyes and worry lines in his forehead that somehow made him cuter.

"of course we will be," dream responded, reaching his arm out to slip his hand into george's. this made him relax a little, the tension out of his shoulders just a bit as he smiled back at dream. the pod kept moving up, up, through the tubes, and dream wondered whether they'd walked into a trap.

he didn't have to wait long to see. the pod stopped, abruptly and suddenly, giving dream a strange sense of vertigo as the glass doors slid open. george squeezed his hand and took a shaky breath before letting go, stepping forward into the dark.

  
lights turned on, shining from the ceiling, and dream's eyes widened when he stepped out. the sides of the walls were lined with pods, but not the kind they'd just been in - not ones for travelling. instead they were filled with green liquid that had bubbles, floating toward the top of the glass containers.

  
"what is that?" george asked, eyebrows furrowing, and dream shrugged. "right. doesn't matter. we should -"

  
a crackling sound echoed through the air, and a voice filled the room shortly after. " _heh. i knew you'd make your way here eventually, dream._ " unlike that day in the warehouse, this didn't seem pre-recorded, or even said through a mic. it was quieter than it had been that day, though still loud enough to be heard across the area. 

  
dream reached behind him for his sword, fingers wrapping around the hilt. out of the corner of his eye, he saw george pull out his dagger, hands shaking as he did so. the voice seemed to grow closer with every word. " _and now you're here. what are you going to do now, dream?"_

"i'm here too," dream heard george murmur under his breath, and despite everything he couldn't help but let out a huff of a laugh. he widened his stance, gripping his sword, choosing not to answer the question. it was bait, to keep them distracted. 

footsteps grew louder, clicking against the floor, until finally a figure came into view. technoblade, arms crossed, smiling, so easy and infuriating. a chipped golden crown sat atop his messy pink hair - matching the pieces they'd found back at the warehouse. he'd been there. he'd known all along.

even as techno picked at his fingernails, clearly baiting dream, the latter stayed silent. "so you don't remember?" he questioned, and dream faltered. _remember what?_ "i thought, what with everything, it would've stuck. guess you're just as forgetful as your... pet over there." he jerked his head toward george, who growled like a feral dog.

"i am _not_ a pet!" he yelled, and before dream could stop him george charged at techno, who drew his sword and blocked, twisting his dagger out of his hand. george gritted his teeth and swung at techno with his fist, and it connected with a sickening crunch. 

dream yelled out george's name when he got slammed into the floor, cracks spreading through the tiles. he ran at techno, who brought his sword to block his attack, and he ground his feet into the floor as they pressed their swords against the other's. "just give up, techno," he managed through gritted teeth.

"you think the only purpose of that chip was to erase his memory?" techno asked out of the blue, his lip curling as he slashed dream away, dusting his red cloak off. dream made a sound of confusion, which turned into panic as he turned his head to see george, standing up on shaky legs. "oh, dream. you really must learn to be more aware, don't you think?"

george's eyes, once dark brown, now glowed gold like the sun, like the crown that techno wore, glinting in the low, dim light. despite the bruise across his cheek he smiled, eerie and cold and ominous, twisting his wrist. with a _snap_ it seemed to fix itself and he picked up his dagger, wielding it at his right side.

_that's weird,_ dream thought, _isn't george left-handed?_

what registered in his mind was far too late as george lunged at him, throwing himself on top of dream and laughing as he tried to shove his dagger into dream's face. dream heard the faint sound of techno laughing as he pushed george away.

"george! come on, this isn't you!" he yelled as george laughed again, ignoring the bruises blooming along his arms and legs and face. the arm that had been chipped had green lines and veins racing down its side across the skin, contorted like his blood had been replaced by whatever had been injected into him. "what the hell did you do to him?"

"i'm not a fool, dream!" he replied, voice full of mirth as dream dodged and weaved around george's attacks. "you think i just wanted to erase his memory? this is so much more. now not only do i get to kill you -" a wide grin spread across techno's face, "- but now i get to do it with the one person you love the most. isn't it great?"

dream didn't get a chance to respond as george's dagger finally landed, striking him across his side. blood spilled out across his hoodie, staining his hands and the floor as dream fell to the ground. a second later all he could do was wrestle with george, trying not to hurt him even as george growled manically, stabbing his dagger into the floor next to dream, the blade just barely missing his face with each stab as the two writhed on the floor.

"how do i -" dream choked on a sob as he was forced to punch george, leaving him sprawling on the floor, a split lip and a bruise under his eye, "- please just let him go!" he hated the fact that he'd resorted to begging, but seeing george in pain at his hands was so much more awful.

"kill him, then, dream!" techno yelled back as george clenched his jaw, swaying on his feet as dream backed away, as far as he could. "do it! because there's no way i'm letting go of him now." dream cried when george swung at him, ducking under, causing george to tumble across the floor, hissing in pain and anger. "not when i'm having this much fun!"

cursing techno under his breath, dream wrapped his hand around george's wrist when he lunged again, twisting the dagger out of hand. george screamed in pain when dream pinned him to the floor with his knee, wrenching his arm backward. his voice was distorted and monstrous, a semblance of what he used to be.

george scratched at dream's wrist, legs kicking up and down as he tried to reach back to bite dream. "i'm sorry," dream sobbed as he forced george's head down against the floor, making him scream again. dream winced - he didn't think he'd ever get used to how george sounded now that he was being controlled.

using his other hand, he grabbed the dagger, hovering its blade over george's back. "kill him, then!" techno encouraged as george thrashed underneath dream. "one less person for you to fight!" his voice was somehow deadpan and gleeful at the same time, and it infuriated dream.

"i won't!" he shrieked back, and in the moment it took to talk to him, george was back on dream, wrenching the dagger out of his hands and stabbing at him. dream yelped at the pain in his cheek as the blade sliced across his skin. he kicked george off, struggling to his feet.

he reached down to pick up his sword, hands trembling around it as he lifted it, prepared for george's next attack. unlike dream, george didn't seem bothered or distressed at all, a grin spreading across his face widely - almost too wide. like something straight out of a horror movie.

"you don't have any other choice, dream," techno said from afar, "he'll just keep fighting until he's dead."

dream shook his head, determined to reject the reality of his situation. too many people had told him he'd never be anything, and he never stopped then; and dream was determined not to start now. he would fine another way, like he always did.

except it was getting more hopeless by the second as george pounced, wrestling with dream, who pushed him back and shrieked when the dagger landed another strike on his arm. he brought his sword up, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt george - he was too weak, too soft.

pain raced through his system as george pulled at his hair, blood dripping down the wound where the dagger had impaled his arm. he staggered and grabbed george, wrapping his hands around his torso, and with all the adrenaline coursing through his veins threw him toward one of the pods.

he barely registered the shriek that rang out through the air as the glass cracked, piercing george's skin across his face, his back, his arms. blood pooled under him, the red liquid leaking out from every limb of his body as he slid against the shattered pod down to the floor. some of the green liquid spilled out, but george stayed immobile.

"no!" dream yelled as techno laughed triumphantly behind him. he sprinted over to where george was, eyes running over his wounded body. dream tried his best to pick out the glass shards, but there were too many, all over his body, only adding to the mass of scars and bruises and injuries. "no. george?"

george's eyes fluttered open as his breath grew ragged, relief flooding through dream's body when they were their usual dark colour. "dream?" he rasped out, clinging onto his shoulders as he started to cry. "fuck, this - really fucking hurts."

"you're going to be okay," dream said, trying his best to be calm and peaceful and comforting even when inside he felt like bawling.

"no, i'm not," george replied, voice barely a whisper, "hey, you - you win this for me, okay?" dream opened his mouth to reply, but george cut him off. "dream. you have to do this for me. please. for me." his hand slipped down from dream's shoulder to his side as the light in his eyes seemed to flicker out. "i love you."

dream let out a broken sob as george went limp in his arms, doubling over as he screamed into the fabric of george's shirt, tears dripping from his eyes as whimpers escaped from his mouth as he cried. he never should have let george come. he never wanted to see him hurt again and yet - and now -

it was all his fault. "should've protected you," he sobbed over george's body, fists clenching as he cried. 

the pain began to ebb away as he calmed down, his crying turning more into shaky breaths, growing numb as dream rubbed at his red-rimmed eyes. instead of sadness, anger burst in his heart, and he crawled over to reach for his sword pathetically.

"it was a nice try," techno bragged. dream didn't register his presence, just stared dully into the space in front of him, unblinking and emotionless. techno drew his other sword out, pressing his heeled boot to the side of george's head. "but -"

dream didn't let him finish, hefting his sword up and screaming until his voice was hoarse as he charged. for the first time techno seemed caught off-guard, crossing his two swords in defense as dream slashed and hacked at them with his sword. "you _killed_ him!" his voice was rough as he felt tears streak down his cheeks. 

" _you_ killed him," techno responded, driving one of his swords into dream's arm. dream doubled over, tearing at his own hair as he tried to suppress the guilt in his chest and stomach. "he's expendable, dream. you wonder why i didn't kill him the second he tried to escape?" techno laughed mockingly, grabbing onto dream's wrist and twisting it when dream lunged at him to punch him.

"i loved him," dream snarled, straining against techno's grip even as pain spread through his arm. 

he paused for a second when techno laughed again - this time it was bitter, almost sad, like he longed for something. "you did, didn't you?" he asked, using his other hand to point the tip of his blade. "just as much as you used to love _me_?"

"i - what?" dream faltered, going limp in techno's hold as the latter smiled, filled with melancholy and regret, even if his eyes were still cold and cruel. "what the hell are you going on about?"

"so you really don't remember." he took advantage of dream's confusion, planting his boot and kicking him into the floor. dream curled up into a ball and grunted as techno continued. "any of it. don't you ever wonder about your past, dream? how you got here now?" his lip curled in disgust. "you don't remember me?"

dream struggled to speak past the blood flowing out of his mouth, coating his lips red. "we've met before?" he questioned weakly. techno growled and picked him up, slamming him against one of the pods, the green liquid bubbling under him as the glass cracked.

"of course we have. back when we were both children. we'd train together." his voice seemed to lose some of its coldness, more soft as he reminisced. "in the fields. i still remember when you dyed your hair red." dream's breath grew shakier. "and i was the one who taught you how to fight."

"what - do you mean?" dream choked out, even though he knew. the flashes of his past. the way his hands felt so comfortable around a sword hilt, even though he never remembered handling one before. the way that, when george described how he felt without his memory, dream related in some way - 

the way something was missing. he'd always had the sneaking suspicion that he wasn't complete, not yet, that something had happened to him. that there was something about himself that he didn't know. the way techno's voice had seemed so familiar, at the warehouse, a week ago...

he'd forgotten. something. just as george had. except he'd grown so used to the feeling of being incomplete that he never bothered to question, that he'd somehow convinced himself that it was all in his head. of course he knew who he was. of course he knew where he'd come from. even if he couldn't recall, it wasn't like it really mattered.

not until now, at least.

techno's hand came to wrap around his throat as he choked, feeling oxygen drain from his lungs. his legs flailed, but it was all in vain as techno tightened his grip and gritted his teeth. "i don't even remember you!" he shouted back, mustering the loudest voice he could even as his throat constricted. "why are you so mad, anyway? i didn't choose to forget! i don't even know how i did!" techno laughed at this, so vicious and inhuman it sent shivers down dream's back.

"maybe this'll refresh your memory," he growled, picking up dream and slamming him against the pod once more. the glass cracked open this time, shards of it falling into the liquid below, some of them impaling themselves into dream's back as he yelled out in pain.

the fluid bubbled below him, and dream heard a faint fizzing sound where his hair touched the liquid. "wait, techno," he rasped out, scratching at techno's glove, his hand around dream's neck the only thing keeping him from falling in. he didn't know what the fluid was or what it did, but it couldn't have been good. "wait -"

with one last scream he was plunged under, the world seeming to spin around him. he tried to open his mouth, but started retching at the burning feeling that met his lips and tongue when he did. dream reached out to the surface, but techno, a blurry mass of red and pink and pale skin, just pushed him down and moved away.

he'd failed. techno had defeated them. and the only person he cared about - loved, trusted - was dead. dream had killed him with his own hands.

with one last shaky breath, dream let himself slip away.


	27. twenty-seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true; here is the place where i love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> techno is very ooc in this and im sorry for that khgjk

"come on, dream, try harder!"

dream huffed, pouting, and with all his might swung his wooden sword toward the training dummy, hay sticking out of the corners where the fabric didn't quite connect. the sword whacked against the side and the force of it made dream squeal, tumbling to the ground.

the dirt made a tiny scrape appear on the underside of his calf, and while it was tiny, barely red or bleeding at all, dream started to cry, open-mouthed and loud, tears sliding down his cheeks. footsteps grew closer and a second later technoblade thumped into the ground in front of him.

"sorry!" he was saying, pulling out a band-aid from his red jacket and plastering it clumsily over the cut. almost like magic the pain went away and dream squealed again, this time in joy, flinging his arms around techno. "you should be more stronger next time, dream."

" _more stronger,_ " dream mocked, jumping to his feet and hefting up the sword. it looked huge in his tiny hands but he smiled wide and cocky anyway. "eee! i got your sword, techno, what are you going to do about it?" he blew a raspberry and took off running.

techno started groaning as he ran after dream. "that's my training sword, dream, don't lose it!" he whined as he tried to catch up, but dream was too fast for him. they ran around the meadows for a while, after that, and dream was happy. 

*:･ﾟ✧

dream stared in the mirror, aghast, as techno wheezed beside him.

"wh -" he cackled, doubling over in a way so cheerful and happy. dream rarely saw him like this. "wh - what were you trying to do with this - _oh my god._ you look _so_ stupid!" he wiped tears away from his eyes as dream rolled his own, picking at his red hair. 

"i think i look fine," dream said, nonchalantly, even if he didn't really believe it himself. techno seemed to see right through him, nearly collapsing in laughter. it was a juxtaposition to his usually monotone, flat voice, and dream thought he'd like to hear it more. 

once he caught his breath techno clapped his hand onto dream's shoulder. "keep thinking that." he flopped back onto the bed behind him, green like grass. _it matches your eyes,_ his mother had said, and while at first he'd thought it was stupid he'd grown accustomed to the colour. "why'd you do it, anyway? your hair looks fine."

blush spread across dream's cheeks as he tore his eyes away from the mirror, sitting down next to techno and murmuring under his breath. when techno told him to spit it out he sighed and looked up. "i just - think it's cool how you dye your hair, okay? i wanted to try it."

"you think i'm cool?" techno asked, not laughing although dream was expecting him to. he shrugged and techno smiled softly, ruffling dream's hair, now ridiculously bright and tacky. "aw, thanks, dreamie."

dream rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "don't call me that! you know, maybe i did this on purpose, to make you feel better about how i'm getting better than you at sword-fighting." at this techno gasped, tackling dream into the blankets and flicking at his forehead. "ow! techno!"

"that's what you get," techno sniffed, jumping up on his bare feet, bouncing up and down on the bed. dream frowned up at him. "i'm the king, dream, you're never going to be better than me. you know what they say; technoblade never dies."

"nobody says that," dream deadpanned, "you're so stupid." he sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, only to catch techno grinning at him fondly, albeit a little smugly. "what."

he laughed. "you know what, dream? i don't think you look all that bad."

*:･ﾟ✧

"techno! what's wrong?" he crawled onto the bed next to techno, peering over to see him, staring at dream with raised eyebrows and an impassive face. almost too impassive, even for techno, who was usually so emotionless. "i saw you throw a pillow down the stairs, jesus."

"it's nothing," techno said, and although dream tried his best to decipher what he was feeling, techno really did seem okay aside from the sudden bout of anger that made him chuck a pillow at the staircase. "some stupid kids on the street said it was embarrassing how you beat me in the tournament."

dream rolled his eyes. some people were too immature about the championship. it wasn't like winning gave him anything but a trophy, anyway. "stupid," he said, and techno nodded in agreement, "what'd you do?"

in response techno ground his fist into his palm and grinned. "beat them up, obviously," he replied, so flippant and casual, "i was just kind of pissed, is all. but it doesn't matter. not to me. if i want to lose to someone, it'd be you." he poked dream in the chest. "besides, second place suits me just fine."

"ugh, yeah. it's not like the tournament's that important to anyone except a few idiots," he said, pretending like he hadn't trained for it for weeks before, "but like... are you sure? you can tell me anything if you want, i won't be angry. if you're, like, jealous."

techno laughed like this was ridiculous. "jealous? of you?" the mocking tone of his voice made dream flush. "listen, dream, i started training you because i wanted you to be good. if i got angry when you did why would i teach you in the first place? besides, i can still be better than you at other things."

"like what, exactly?"

"archery," techno said, "parkour. and i'll always be smarter than you, 'cause you're dumb as a rock." he tapped his knuckles against the side of dream's head. "see? hollow." and snorted out a laugh when dream flicked at his nose grumpily. 

he was glad techno was okay, but there was a weird churning in his stomach he couldn't shake off. like he knew on some level something bad was going to happen, the small instinct one had right before a disaster. a bad omen. but dream couldn't quite place it, turning to face techno and leaning in, finding comfort in what had been familiar his whole life.

birds chirped, sun shining in through the window, and at least for now he could bask in the warmth. "so you sure you're okay, right?" dream asked, wrapping his arm around techno, who groaned as if tired and nodded. "good. i'm just... i don't know. i feel like something bad's gonna happen."

"you've been watching too many horrors," techno said, "besides, even if something did happen, i'll be here. don't be so caught up about it." dream sighed in relief and let warmth burst in his heart like a firework.

*:･ﾟ✧

they shivered in the rain, together, pressed shoulder to shoulder. water ran across the pavements, across the grey asphalt, and while dream felt tears slide down his cheeks techno stared dully into the distance.

"i'm sorry about it," the latter finally said, pink hair bright and vibrant even as it was plastered to his forehead, "about your mom, i mean. that really sucks." he leaned back against the bench and sighed, drawing his red jacket tighter around himself. 

dream shrugged, crossing his arms. "well, it's your fault anyway," he muttered, making techno raise his eyebrows, sympathy wiped from his face. "maybe if you hadn't wasted all that money on food, we would've been able to get medicine. but sure. it's fine. eat your chocolate."

"this chocolate's keeping us alive, moron," techno said, and his monotone voice, although dream usually associated it with comfort, now angered him. "besides, how was i supposed to know nearly every member of both our families would come down with the same virus? can you use your brain?"

he knew. he knew it was the rain, and the disaster, and how they were _orphans,_ now - that was the cause of it, surely. it was getting to both of them, making them irritable, distressed. dream knew that, but he retorted anyway. "can you use _yours_ for once?"

"dream, sit down," techno said, but dream shook his head, standing up taller just to piss him off. 

"what are you going to do about it, techno? fight me? beat me up?" he laughed bitterly, shoes slipping against the wet pavement. no one glanced at them as they walked past, and dream wasn't focused on anything but himself and the boy in front of him. the boy he loved. "i don't think you can."

techno kept staring, and his lack of a reaction just made the anger and the misery inside of dream well up, fizzing like a bomb set to explode. "yeah, i bet you can't. 'cause i'm better than you, remember?" he spat, voice acidic as he yelled out the words, fists clenched at his sides. 

the only sound he could hear after that was the patter of the rain, quickening as wind crashed against the trees, so strong it nearly swept dream off his feet himself. techno looked down and finally, _finally,_ with a twisted sense of satisfaction from dream, showed an inch of emotion - sadness. almost regret.

"so go." his words caught dream off-guard for a moment, stepping back to the edge of the sidewalk. techno leaned in, furrowing his eyebrows. "you blame it all on me? you think you're so much better? go, then. if you don't need me." they stared at each other, like a challenge.

in the end dream gave in, gritting his teeth and straightening. "yeah. i will." he zipped open his backpack, rummaging in it for a familiar wooden training sword. one he'd practiced so often with, side by side with techno, one that had looked so big in his hands when he was a child - barely the size of his torso, now. dream held it above his head before tossing it to the ground, making it snap in two.

gone, along with the memories associated it. tears pricked at dream's eyes as he slung his backpack across his shoulder and glared, one last time, at techno. who knew if they'd ever see each other again? 

he wasn't thinking about that, though, as he stepped forward and onto the street; barely registering the surprise on techno's face, the panicked quality to his voice that dream had never heard before - _"dream, wait!"_

if he'd been smarter, more aware, more careful. maybe it wouldn't have happened. if he hadn't been so quick to judge techno and turn away from him, letting their memories wash away like water on a beach shore, maybe it wouldn't have happened. but he was, and it did.

he barely registered the car front slamming against his side, the burning pain that split his skin as everything went dark.

*:･ﾟ✧

liquid filled his lungs. bubbles of green and glinting light floated to the surface.

everything was blurry. the only thing he could make out was the vague shape of glass shards, sharp as some managed to pierce his skin, and his hands, as he drifted down. down. toward death, maybe. probably. right. it was over.

he remembered now. everything. and finally, even if he was on the brink of death, he was complete. he hadn't been that, not since ten years ago on that pavement, throwing down a toy sword against the sidewalk. he was complete. and now -

it was time to let go.


	28. twenty-eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream is dead. george is angry.

"come on now. get up." 

a hand wrapped around george's arm, dragging him to his feet. he groaned at the burning pain shooting through his body, up his nerves, but he was too tired and numb to react any more than that. despite the hand supporting him, he still sagged to the floor the second he tried to stand up.

the voice made an irritated sound. "what, are you useless too, now? get up," technoblade repeated, this time taking the effort to wrap his arm around george's shoulder and hoisting him up. when he regained his balance, techno's hand slid from his shoulder to his wrist, tightening around it. "good. maybe i can still make use of you."

for some reason, george shook his head and yanked away, even if it caused him to crash into the floor, much to techno's exasperation. "dream," he said, barely a gurgle past the blood spilling past his lips. "where... dream?"

techno laughed, cruelly, mockingly. "he's dead now," he said, and though george choked on a sob he couldn't say he was surprised. "and even if he isn't, i doubt he'd remember you." jerking his head toward dream, body half-sunken into the green liquid. "come on, then."

he tried to drag george toward the pod where they'd entered, only making it halfway before george decided to dig his heels into the ground, twitching in pain as he fell to his knees. "no," he whispered, voice so broken and breathy he couldn't recognise himself. techno's eye twitched in annoyance as he tried to grab george again.

crying out when a broken shard of dagger was driven into his arm, blood leaking out and dripping to the floor as the skin tore open. "i said no," george repeated, louder, scrunching his hands into fists, as techno picked out the shard, tossing it to the floor behind him. he breathed in, as if trying to control himself.

"if you want to _live,_ " techno started, though george just glared, "then i advise you come with me, right now, and stop making such a fuss." he reached for george, who, with all his energy, lunged at techno's hand and bit down as hard as he could. 

his following scream was louder than the last as techno bent over, gritting his teeth, breathing through his nose as he growled, cupping the stumps of his fingers. george spit out the salty, metallic taste of blood, crawling toward dream as techno stared at the chunks of his flesh once attached to his hand.

once he reached dream, exhaustion made george collapse over his body, fingers scrunched into his hoodie, soaked with blood and other liquids as he pulled dream out of the liquid. he pressed down on his chest and the green fluid spurted out, but dream didn't wake up, even as more of it started pooling on the ground from his mouth.

he bent over dream's body, not making a sound or saying a word as tears started slipping down his cheeks again. george let them fall, staring at dream's peaceful face. with a whispery breath he leaned over and pressed his lips to dream's freckled skin, drawing away to wrap his fingers around his sword.

techno was evidently done with yelling over his severed fingers, because he'd drawn his swords - though his grip on the right one was a little stilted, his face red with anger and his eyebrows furrowed. he smirked, despite the pain he must've been feeling in his hands.

george rolled over, one of the blades skimming past his head. he hefted the sword and although it was heavy managed to swing it right at techno's arm, drawing a large gash across the skin. the grief was quickly turning into anger, rage, hot and boiling inside his chest as he ground his teeth together and lifted his sword to hit techno again.

this time, he wasn't so lucky. techno blocked his swing with one of his swords and with the other one, drove it straight into george's side. blood spilled out and pain burnt through him, but he was too distracted by his anger to feel it. techno's satisfied grin vanished when george's sword hurtled toward his face.

" _agh_!" he cried out in agony at the slash across his face, red and bright like a welding iron. the pain in george's side hadn't quite kicked in yet, though, so he swung again, across techno's chest. when the sword tumbled out of his hands at the force of it he lunged at him with his bare hands. "oh, i've had enough of you."

with surprising ease, techno grabbed his clawing, scratching hands, tossing george into the floor and pressing his heel to his chest. he sliced his sword cleanly against the surface of george's skin, but before he could plunge the blade in fully george grabbed his ankle and yanked him to the right, getting to his feet and sprinting as fast across the room as he could.

"why?" he managed to shout out hoarsely, cowering against the wall. nowhere to turn to. at least he tried, but first - he wanted to know. "why are you doing all this?" 

"you don't see it?" techno said, spreading his arms out in arrogance despite the blood dripping down his skin and soaking his clothing. he tore his red cloak off of him, tossing it behind him and letting it flutter to the ground. "the more people that work for me, the more i control! and i won't stop until i get the whole town in my hands." he slipped a dagger off his belt and flung it at george, who was too tired to dodge.

he made a groan of pain and cupped his leg, whimpering at the blood seeping through his fingers. "don't you get it? once i control this place, it'll be so much better. admit it, george, this place sucks. the whole world does. but if i ran it, it'd be so much better. and i'll keep going." 

with a wet sound he wiped the blood away from his sword, letting it splatter to the floor as he rushed at george. the blade impaled itself into the glass pod and liquid spilled out, making both of them hiss as it made contact with their open wounds. 

george didn't know how he was still alive - it certainly didn't feel like it, red pouring out of his countless injuries, his whole body stinging as he ran and skidded across the floor in attempt for his sword. just as techno brought down his sword george brought up his, making them clash together.

"isn't there a better way to do this?" he managed. there was no way he could beat techno. the best he could do was try to convince him to at least stop for a second. "i would help you! if you could just think - for a second -" techno didn't seem to like the idea, lifting up his sword to plunge down.

luckily, george was aware enough to take the opportunity to slash his own sword into techno's chest. techno just grinned, fangs jutting out as he grabbed the sword blade-first and smashed it across the ground, shattering the sharp tip. "no!" he gurgled just as techno held his own sword above his head and, like slicing through butter, sliced george's arm clean off. 

a scream was ripped from his throat as his vision went dark for a second, liquid spilling past his fingers, clenched around the stump of his limb as he sobbed and writhed on the ground. whimpery breaths were torn from his lungs, and though he was breathing in and out rapidly it felt like he was running out of oxygen. the faint sound of laughter reached his ears and it made his breathing even more crazed.

the hand he had left reached for his own shattered sword. in search of relief he used it to support himself as he crawled toward one of the pods. "oh, i wouldn't do that if i were you," techno said as george reached blindly for one of the wires running along it. "those things are quite explosive." 

at his words, george straightened, a little. now there was an idea.

weakly, he reached for dream, a few pods away, lying in a pool of green liquid that once been in his mouth, down his throat. he wrapped his arms - or what was left of them - around dream's torso and with all his strength hauled him toward the entrance.

"what are you doing?" techno asked, almost quizzical. he didn't make a move to stop george. the room smelled like smoke, the scent so thick and strong it almost made george choke, but he kept going. dream's hoodie was soaked and it was hard to get a grip on it with his one hand. "oh, you're trying to escape. heh."

his laugh, so casual, as if he didn't even see george as a threat, angered him. all he could do as he dragged dream along was stare at the floor, grimy and coated with blood, muttering under his breath. "it's okay, dream. we'll get out of here. it's okay."

techno laughed louder. george grimaced, pressing his face against dream's dirty blond hair, wet and messy and tangled. with a final burst of energy he heaved him across the floor and threw dream's limp body into the travel pod. techno walked across, hands behind his back, to stand in front of george.

who ignored him. "d - dream? i'm - i'm glad. i don't know if you can hear me, but i'm glad i met you." tears welled up in his eyes as he softened, looking at dream's body, bloody and bruised and soaked. "i'm - i'm gonna finish this for us. i hope you'll remember me. i love you."

the glass doors slid shut, the pod travelling down. george looked up to see techno, finger pressed against the down button, smirking at george. his eyes went back to dream, the pod, sinking down, moving down the tube and out of sight. he pressed his hand to the glass and banged his forehead against it. dream was gone. 

"it's too late," george said, voice quivery and soft, "he's gone. he's safe." 

"his corpse is, sure." techno crossed his arms, not even bothering to move like he knew george couldn't hurt him. and he couldn't. not unless his plan worked... "and now you have no other way out. you'll bleed out here, and your body will rot. so congratulations, george. it really was a good try."

he shivered, getting to his feet on wobbly legs. techno stared, coolly, at the pathetic sight in front of him, george's only hand pressing itself to the side of his throbbing head. dream was gone. gone. he was safe. bad and sapnap - they were safe, too. they'd all be safe if he just did this one thing for them.

_hey, you win this for me, okay?_

if he'd expected dream to win this for him when he'd supposedly died, then surely dream expected the same of him. he had to do this for dream. the only person he wholly trusted and loved in a long, long while. he'd be proud of george. if he could just stand up.

_i'm gonna finish this for us._

george looked up at techno as tears dripped down his cheeks, down to his chin. "not gonna let you win," he rasped out as he finally gained balance, though his legs felt like they would give out any moment. techno raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.

"really," he deadpanned, "and how are you going to stop me, george? tell me about your world-saving plan." he grinned, but george didn't answer. he needed to save his energy. he needed it to save the world, to save his friends, to end this for dream. for both of them.

he limped toward the pods. any moment now, he'd give out. he'd lost too much blood already, but he could end this before he died. at least then he'd be able to do one good thing. his fingers were slippery as they wrapped around one of the wires, pulling it free and snapping it in half.

unfortunately, techno seemed to realise what he was doing, as a second later he was slammed into the wall. a hand squeezed around his throat, and his eyes darted around. the green liquid seeping from dream's broken pod, leaking toward the others. if he could just get them to connect somehow -

"smart. i have to admit i didn't really expect it. but then again... it wasn't really difficult to stop you."

"fuck you," george spat, and techno almost looked impressed. "you think you're all that - well, you're not. there's no way in hell i'm letting you win, freak." his legs flailed around, kicking techno in the stomach repeatedly, though it didn't seem to have much effect, mouth opening and closing in attempt for air.

for once, the grin faded off techno's face. "you're dead," he growled, raising his fist, poised to punch. he was on the brink of death already, and it would probably kill him, but all george did was smile back, knowing he'd won. he'd won. he just hoped dream would know that.

"i am," he said, almost conversationally, his voice barely a breath, "but at this point, you are too."

with a cry of rage techno swung his fist at george, who sunk his teeth into his knuckles, splitting open the skin. when techno pulled away, yelling in pain, george mustered up all the energy he had left to kick him in the stomach, before sprinting to the wires. the wires. right. _i wouldn't do that if i were you. those things are quite explosive._

for dream. if he did this one thing, he'd be safe. with bad and sap and everyone else. his fingers scratched against the rubber of the wire, tearing it open to reveal the bronze strands. it wouldn't matter if he died. he hoped dream would know that. he hoped they'd be happy again, at least.

he was going to finish it. end it all. even as techno's hands clawed at his back george grinned, yanking the wire out. he drove his fist into the glass of the pod, making it shatter, shards of glass in his fist and arm. red liquid mixed with green. pain shot through his whole system but he laughed, happy, relieved - he could do this. he did this for dream. he was going to end this here. 

and as he pushed techno into the pod, sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him - the faint sound of fizzing in the background - he did. he'd ended it. he smiled to himself, one last time. dream would be proud of him. surely he would be. he'd won. he'd won.

explosions rang in the distance, and the whole place went up in flames. fire raced up his skin and it burned, it _hurt -_ but when he opened his mouth all that came out was laughter. it was over, then. george fell to the ground, letting the agony overtake him as he burned away, one last thought registering in his mind as he slipped away -

_i win._


	29. twenty-nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the aftermath isn't easy.

dawn had broken, painting the sky beautiful shades of light blue and white orange near the horizon. the sun was rising, and dream rubbed at his eyes. bad had told him to go to sleep, that when he woke up he'd feel better, but even after he'd woken up from this three-hour nap he still felt as terrible as ever.

he ran his palm over his bandaged arm. mega had said that he probably wouldn't be doing any sports soon - or ever, really - and that he might not be able to be back in his previous condition ever again, but he was fine with that. what he was more concerned with was george.

it'd been seven hours since they'd dug his body out of the rubble, out of the remains of the cement. he wasn't as close to the first explosion as technoblade had been, bad had told him, so his head hadn't been blown clean off like techno's had been. it was supposed to be good news, but he still couldn't shake how george looked; blood dripping out of his stump of an arm, out of every other wound on his body, bruised and battered.

"is he dead?" dream had asked, right before his nap, and mega had shrugged, writing on his whiteboard to tell dream to be patient. they'd run an experiments, do some surgeries, examine his body. then they'd see. 

_**though if i'm being honest,**_ mega had written, much to dream's misery, **_i really don't think he's going to make it. not with everything he's been through. but who knows? just try to focus on yourself first._**

but how could he, when mega had said himself that george probably wouldn't make it? that right now, he was probably laying in a hospital bed with his unbeating heart and his cold, cold pale skin. dream would never hear his voice again, feel his soft brown hair through his fingers.

it made his heart hurt, but he was far past crying. he'd been done with that. all he could do was cross his ankles together as he leaned against the wall, in an orange t-shirt that was at least one size too small and jeans that bad had given him. 

"hey, dream," a voice said from behind him, and he jumped, spinning around and raising his fists before realising it was just bad. right. obviously it was just bad. technoblade was dead. george had killed him. killed him, and killed himself. "want to talk about it?"

"no," was his instant response, "but... can you stay? i don't - i don't really want to be alone." bad nodded, stepping down to stand beside dream. they were on one of the porches on the second floor, a wooden deck jutting out of the building and stretching over the ground below. there were a few chairs and table, but dream didn't feel like sitting. besides, he had a wheelchair, one that he didn't really like using.

they stared into the sunrise in silence. his mask had been shattered in the fight, so ever so often dream ran his hand over his face. it was weird. he didn't like being without it, especially not in such a vulnerable state. but he could trust bad, who'd lost one of his fingers in the fight but was otherwise unharmed aside from a few other wounds and bruises.

dream sighed. everyone had told him not to blame himself for what had happened to george, but maybe if he'd been more careful. stronger. maybe if he'd held up to techno longer instead of getting distracted by their past.

their past. despite all the injuries he'd sustained he remembered everything. he was finally complete, his mind a puzzle coming together like the final piece had been slotted in. it felt good, but he couldn't quite concentrate on the pleasant feeling. not without george.

"you know, some of my friends have been speculating on what happened. with paradise and all that," bad said, and dream felt a wave of relief at the change of subject. "skeppy has the records of all the money transactions, and he thinks techno was maybe bribing some important people in order to keep all of this a secret."

"which explains why he had so much control over the government? figures," dream muttered, crossing his arms.

bad nodded in agreement. "yeah, probably. a lot of skeppy's colleagues are very... greedy. they don't have much morals, either. i mean, who can blame them? it's hard to live out here with those." he stared into the rising sun, eyes sad, mouth drawn into a frown. "i'm just proud skeppy kept his."

"what are you talking about, bad?" dream asked, one of the sentences striking him as wrong. he thought back to the crowded streets and buses and long, long store lines. "so many people live out here. it's not too hard."

"i didn't mean survive, dream. i meant _live._ "

this struck a chord with dream, but he didn't know how to respond, so he just went back to leaning against the wall. soon the sun would be fully in the sky, shining bright and hot. he glanced at the clock - two minutes past six. that would mark eight hours since they'd found george's body, and no news yet. worry made his stomach churn, folding in on itself.

a hand on his arm. dream jumped and looked at bad, who was staring at him softly. "dream?" he said, looking like he wanted to say something, before seeming to decide against it, shaking his head. "i hope you'll feel okay soon."

"thanks, bad." dream smiled for the first time since the fight. "me too." he watched as bad patted his shoulder and wandered back in, sliding the glass doors shut behind him. dream would have to go back in soon, too, if he wanted to avoid the heat of the sun. but he stayed, for a while longer, closing his eyes.

he wished george was next to him, with his straight, dark brown hair and his endearing flushed skin. if he closed his eyes for long enough, then he could almost imagine it, the feel of their sides pressed together in the light, fingers entangling. 

but as it were, when dream reached out a little to the left - he wasn't there. just an illusion, the ghost of a feeling he'd never see or experience again. george was gone, and he'd have to get used to it.

the sun was out now, a yellow circle in the sky radiating warmth and heat, but all dream felt on the inside was cold, and numb, and dead. like when george had died he'd taken a part of dream with him. even as he went back inside into the colder, air-conditioned room, he felt heavy. every step he took felt like a challenge.

skeppy was standing at the corner, scribbling absent-mindedly in a notebook. dream stopped behind him, too tired to say or do anything to make his presence known. he waited for a good minute until skeppy turned around, jumping at the sight of dream, blinking.

"how long have you been there?"

"dunno," he replied, voice thick, and skeppy softened, patting him on his shoulder. "i'm fine." he wasn't sure if that was the truth, but if he said it enough time maybe he'd start to believe it too. though skeppy sent him an unconvinced look, dream added, "really."

knowing that dream probably wouldn't give in, skeppy didn't push. "uh, okay. well, mega said he has news. i was waiting for you, but i guess i got distracted. sapnap's there too." dream's heart dropped into his stomach, and he bit his lip. there it was. the news. of course it was inevitable. _he's dead._

despite the sobs threatening to spill out of his mouth again, dream straightened, determined to not let his softness get the better of him. he'd be strong. he'd be tough. dream had always been that way and he wasn't so eager to let that change. he followed skeppy down the stairs and across the corridors.

"how are the children?" dream asked, coughing to try to get rid of the hoarseness in his voice. they'd said that his vocal cords had been damaged - not enough to have a big, lasting impact, but he wouldn't be able to talk too much at a time, ever. that was fine, too. he just wanted george to be okay.

"they're holding up fine, if that's what you mean," skeppy responded as they stopped in front of the clinic door. after the surgeries they had been forced to transport george - george's _body_ \- back to the orphanage. "tommy keeps asking, but i don't want to tell him. don't want to involve 'em, you know?"

guilt curled up in dream. he'd dragged so many people into his mission to take down paradise, and he felt bad for not considering that maybe they were more affected than he thought. ignoring the unpleasant feeling, he pushed down the door handle and swung the door open, walking in.

it looked the same as always, but the curtains were drawn around a specific bed. when he made for it, an arm stopped him, pushing him back. mega and dream stared at each other, neither of them saying a word, until mega turned his whiteboard around. _**where's your wheelchair?**_

dream shrugged. he'd left it by the balcony. _**i told you to use it. you're putting a strain on your legs.**_ he found he didn't mind it too much. the constant aching and stinging that ran up his limbs helped distract from dwelling on everything he'd lost.

a moment later, the hospital door swung open again, and sapnap walked in. there were dark circles under his eyes, black hair disheveled, bandage wrapped around his neck. the white ribbon around his head was burnt at the ends, but dream was impressed it had survived at all.

bad slipped in behind him to stand beside mega, who scribbled on his whiteboard. _**wanna do the honors? feels like they'd take it better from you.**_ and dream inhaled, sharply, as bad nodded and cleared his throat. 

"he's dead, isn't he," dream blurted it out, making sapnap cringe and recoil into himself, "you don't have to - stretch this out. prolong it. it's not going to make me feel any better. can't you just tell us instead of making such a big deal out of it?" his voice rose into a yell, and mega winced.

"you're wrong, dream," bad interrupted. they were quiet for a moment, and his hands fell to his sides, twitching. "he's not dead. george isn't dead." 

he heard sapnap gasp softly beside him but dream furrowed his eyebrows, refusing to believe it, refusing to get his hopes up. "this isn't some sick joke, right?" he pushed, and bad looked appalled at the idea. "i - i don't - can i see him? is he awake?" a smile grew on his face as relief washed through him. he'd see george again. they'd talk, and they'd -

"he's not awake," bad said, and the tone of his voice made dream's smile fade. "and he won't be for a long time, probably. he - he's in a coma, dream." the words didn't process into dream's mind until bad shook his head, looking between sapnap and dream. "i'm sorry."

"can i -" dream took a shaky breath, focusing hard on not letting the tears in his eyes escape, "- can i see him?" mega started to shake his head, but hesitated at the piteous look on dream's face. "please. i just - i just want to see him."

mega sighed and gave in. dream looked back at sapnap, who looked sad but nodded as dream pulled back the curtain, sliding it shut behind him. his eyes were scrunched shut as footsteps retreated, the sound of a door closing. they were alone. dream took a moment to steady his breathing, and opened his eyes.

the second he did, he started to cry, tears sliding down his face as he fell to his knees on the cold tiled floor. dream tried to laugh through it, tried to wipe the wet away from his eyes, as he cupped george's hand between two of his own.

"hey," he started, voice cracked, and he huffed out a laugh when he got no response. "george, i..." he didn't know what to say, at a loss of words around george for what felt like the millionth time. all he could do was cry, let the tears fall, hands squeezing around george's. "i - i... i'm so sorry."

"i wasn't strong enough to protect you like i promised," he said once he'd calmed down, rubbing at the reddening rims of his eyes. george's dark brown hair fell over his eyes, and dream brushed it back. "and - and thank you for finishing this for us. i - i'm so proud of you." no matter how much he tried to stop it, tears started to well up again. "you're amazing, george. i love you."

that was all he could handle before his voice broke, unable to say anymore, arms clinging to george like a lifeline as he sobbed. _he's not awake. and he won't be for a long time._ at least he was alive, but dream was too selfish to appreciate that. he just wanted george back, in his arms, to be able to talk to him, and hug him, and touch him.

but he couldn't. and he probably never would again.


	30. thirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen to 'little talks' by of monsters and men while reading for added effect - if you want to, of course. enjoy! ;)

with a heavy sigh dream picked up a marker and crossed the sixteen of the calendar. "one year, two days," dream murmured under his breath, staring wistfully at the bold cross across the number. one year, two days since the mission, since paradise, since george.

two days ago dream had rushed over to sapnap, excited, hopeful. _think he's going to wake up today?_ he'd asked, _it's been a year. maybe today's the day._ he didn't really think that george would wake up, but maybe - maybe if he convinced himself - believed in it enough. maybe it'd happen.

all sapnap had said in response was, "you know comas don't work like that, right?" black hair brushed over his forehead, eyes pitiful like he was sorry for dream. he'd smiled, then, going back to drinking his coffee and fidgeting with his phone. leaving dream there, in the dust, his hope fading away fast even if it was never really there.

he'd left after that of course, wandering around the orphanage. it was rough, the first few weeks after that, but without paradise constantly feeding money into the government the city calmed down. all he had to do now was cover his face as much as possible in public, and he was set.

everything was set, really. maybe dream was wanted, but as time went on he'd fade into oblivion and ignorance. bad had told him that sooner or later he'd only be arrested if he turned himself in, so he didn't have anything to worry about. nothing to worry about but the person he'd fallen in love with a year ago and had never gone a day without thinking of him since.

dream slipped along the street, pulling his hoodie over his head. despite bad's reassurance, he couldn't help but be cautious. he ran his hand along the brick walls as he reached sapnap's cafe, brushing the dirt off his new green hoodie before entering.

the bell chimed just like it had the first time. no matter how many times he heard it, the nostalgia never really went away, and it hurt. "hey, sap," he greeted, trying for a cheerful tone even though he knew sapnap would probably see right through it.

"'sup, dude," he said, pouring coffee into a mug. there were slight bags under his eyes, like he'd stayed up awake for too long. maybe it was because of george. "what do you want? you're going to have to pay today, though. kind of a slow day."

"i'd imagine," dream commented, looking around the empty cafe, "besides, it's not like this money's mine. it's bad's. i'm basically a leech at this point." he saddened at the thought, depending on bad and taking his money without giving anything back. maybe he should have gotten a job at the orphanage. "um, can i get a chocolate latte?"

sapnap rolled his eyes and got to work on the drink. "dream, you're not a leech. bad loves helping people. revels in it." he shook a tall container of whipped cream up and down. "he probably doesn't mind at all, dream. not to mention his boyfriend's one of the richest people in this god forsaken city."

it took a moment for dream to process his words. "skeppy?" he asked, incredulous, and sapnap laughed as he filled a mug up with coffee. "boyfriend? no. you're joking right?" sapnap raised his eyebrows and responded with a _duh._ "yeah, okay, whatever."

a mug full of chocolate latte and a tremendous amount of whipped cream on top was slid across the counter to dream, who took a sip and thanked him. they were quiet for a while, sapnap cleaning out a glass with a rag for what seemed to be the third time that day. 

"festival today," sap finally said to break the quiet, "it's at eight. that's in two hours. do you want to come? i'm sure it'll be fine as long as you're not too obvious." he smiled hopefully as dream took another sip of his latte, licking cream off the top of his lip. when he didn't respond, sapnap's smile faded away. 

"i don't think i'm in the mood," dream replied dully. 

sapnap frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, placing his arms on the counter. "dream, when are you ever going to be in the mood?" he asked. "you can't just mope around forever! look, i get that you're sad. i am too. i've known him longer." dream looked away, feeling a little guilty at this. "but you're going to have to get over it eventually."

for a moment dream wanted to get angry at sapnap, to yell that _fuck you, of course george is going to wake up._ but he couldn't find it in him, not even to believe, so instead he finished off his latte and shrugged. "i know. i know." they stared at each other in desolation. "maybe i'll go next month."

despite the pathetic tone of dream's voice, this seemed to be enough for sapnap, as he smiled. "good. and if you want to go to the one today, you know where to find me." he winked, turning back to take dream's empty glass. "see ya."

"yeah. see you, sap," dream said, sliding off his seat and walking through the door, stopping for just a second to wave back. he'd make an attempt to go next month, maybe, and if not then the month after that. he'd keep trying. but for today, he couldn't. not with worry in his mind and guilt in his heart.

he slipped past, shoes tapping against the asphalt as he made his way back to the orphanage. maybe today he could finish one of the scenes he was stuck on in the book he was writing. it was a sad scene, and he was in a sad mood - maybe that'd make it easier.

the street was suspiciously quiet. everyone was in their homes preparing for the festival, maybe. big parties - or parties at all - were hard to afford, so everyone jumped at the chance to attend the government-funded ones. dream thought it was a little unfair, but he kept his mouth shut and his head down low. he didn't want a repeat of last time, even if there was nothing else for him to lose.

one of the kids - tubbo, his name was - crooked his fingers in a wave as dream passed. he was always playing with bees and bugs and the flowers in the garden, dream remembered, and seeing someone so happy made dream all the more grateful that nothing he'd done had hurt the orphanage. if it did, he thought, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

he crossed the infirmary where george was, and dream could hear the faint beeping of a monitor. gritting his teeth and trying his best to block out the sound, he walked up the stairs, picking up his laptop from where he'd left it on one of the circle tables.

after a moment of decision dream headed to one of the balconies, the very same one he'd stood at with bad that day. he settled into one of the chairs, fingers hovering over the keyboard, staring at the document on the screen among the lights of the sun, lowering in the sky. with a deep breath he started to type up, a story, a scene. trying to fill up the hole in his heart.

_this is nice,_ he thought despite the aching in his heart. maybe he could do this. he could go to the festivals with sapnap, take care of the kids with bad - teach that kid tommy some manners, maybe. he'd go and figure out what happened with paradise with skeppy's help and he'd be done with it all.

he'd move on. put this behind him. spend the rest of his life typing away at a laptop, creating worlds that lived in his head, and someday he'd look back on the past and just laugh. he hoped by then he wouldn't remember how much george had meant to him, because he'd move on. he would.

even if nothing in him would ever be quite right again.

when bad knocked on the glass doors behind him, he checked the word count, pleasantly surprised to see he'd written three hundred more words. he set the laptop back down on the table and turned behind him to look at bad, a wide smile on his face, silver eyes lit up with happiness.

despite himself, despite everything, dream shot up with hope. "what? what is it?" he bounced on his heels, excitement overtaking his body at the pure, unadulterated joy on bad's face. "is he awake?"

" _dream!_ " was all that bad yelled and the next second they were sprinting down the stairs. even as he ran dream couldn't keep up with his racing heart, the happiness that spilled out around his edges as they went down the stairs. george was awake. he was awake. he was -

and there he was. george, standing on shaky legs, eyes open for the first time in a year. brown hair disheveled, eyes glinting in the light. when he caught sight of dream, they both froze, a wide smile spreading across his face when he seemed to realise who was standing in front of him.

"george!" he cried out before lunging forward to wrap his arms around george. despite mega flapping his arms in concern all dream could do was cling onto george's body, tears wetting his face as he buried it in george's soft hair. "you're here. you're awake. i've been waiting..." 

when he finally pulled away, george was looking at him with tired yet happy eyes. "for so long?" he finished, laughing almost like he was amused. "yeah, dream. me too. me too." dream took a shaky, broken breath and collapsed back into george, so grateful he could feel his warmth and the feel of him again.

"wait 'til sapnap hears!" bad said. "ooh! i'll go get him right now! mega, you take care of the kids!" without sticking around to see mega's protest, an open mouth and unimpressed eyes, he raced away. sapnap. he'd see george again, too. and dream would get to laugh in his face for being so cynical, and it'd all be for fun, and they'd all be happy because george was awake, _george was here._

"can we be alone for a sec? on the balcony up there." dream smiled, and mega rolled his eyes, mouthing _try not to hurt him._ dream nodded and wrapped his arm around george's, smiling and vibrating happily as george smiled back.

dream pulled george up the stairs and across the hallways. "geez," george said, yawning as they reached the balcony, "don't go so fast. i still feel so sleepy. and tired." dream couldn't help but give a giddy laugh. it was nice to hear his voice again, even if it was hoarse and exhausted. 

it just added to the reality of it all. that george was here. that george was alive. that despite everything, every wound and every loss, they'd both come out okay in the end. they'd won. they were alive, and somehow that was enough.

"didn't you just take a year-long nap?" dream asked, and george laughed. he took a moment to stare at him, the curves and angles of his face, his knotted stringy hair. they sat, the colours of the sunset orange and yellow across the patio, across the wood. "i'm so glad you're here," he admitted.

"me too," george said, a soft smile on his face, "you know, back there, in the facility. that feels like it was just yesterday. my body still hurts." he smiled weakly, rubbing at the stump of his arm, bandaged up. "but it's been a year... anyway. in the facility. when i... did it. i..."

he went quiet, and dream smiled. "what? it's okay, you can tell me."

a blush spread across george's cheeks as he tucked a chunk of hair behind his ear. "i did it for you," he finished. "not just for you, obviously - but i guess you made me brave enough to do it. i know it's stupid, but i - i just kept thinking of how proud you'd be -"

his voice trailed away when dream slipped their hands together, staring at their fingers, entangled like string. "i _am_ proud, george," he said, "i really am. you're - you saved me. you saved us all." he pressed their foreheads together, smiling at the content sigh george gave. "i love you."

when he looked back up, tears were pricking at the corners of george's eyes, and dream thought that he was on the brink of crying as well. "so what are we going to do after this?" george asked, voice broken. "because i'm fine with anything, as long as i'm with you."

_as long as i'm with you._ "anything we want," dream murmured, the sunset and the boy in front of him blurred by the wet in his eyes, "maybe we'll fix this city. yeah? we have skeppy and bad and sap and - all of them. we'll start small. maybe we can make a difference."

"i'd like that," george whispered. the sound of sapnap shouting and bad laughing reached the balcony from some distance away, and they both smiled. despite everything they were all here, and safe, and alive. and they were together. "you really think we can do it?"

"i think i can do this if i have you," dream said, echoing george's words from a year ago. it was amazing, how long it had been, and yet how the memories were still fresh in the mind - maybe he had a good memory. or maybe it was love. "and we have each other. what could go wrong?" he stretched out his hand, offering it to george. who he loved, and who was real in front of him.

it was almost funny, how they'd met. maybe dream had techno to thank for the boy he loved in front of him, who he trusted and cared for so, so much. who he'd fix the world with, if everything went right. and of course it would, as long as they had each other.

george took his hand, squeezing tight around it as he smiled, full of hope and the future. "yeah," he whispered.

"we'll do this together." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fin.
> 
> ୭ thank you so much for reading paradise on earth! this story isn't the best, but i'm proud of it. i hope the ending wasn't underwhelming, and i hope you liked reading it as much as i liked writing it!
> 
> ୭ i'd like to thank all my commenters, every single one of them, for the support!! y'all mean a lot!! as well as lazy_kitkat and amooniesong, both on ao3, for giving me inspiration. go read their fics, they're both so talented!
> 
> ୭ and once again, thank you for reading! bye for now <3


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